Where We Belong
by Fairytailanimefan
Summary: Her hand slipped into her pocket, fingers rotating the pepper spray cap, but the sight she saw made her forget about using it. A gorgeous man was staring at her, and her eyes roved over him. Piercing blue eyes, stubble, dark shaggy hair, and to top it all off the man was huge. She could see muscle definition through his red henley and nearly drooled. He was an angel. Bucky/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Angel Down**

This was boring. Don was dying inside staring at her data sets. She scrubbed her hands down her face before hovering her mouse over the descriptive frequencies tab, choosing the option to analyze the mode of another variable. Her fingers tapped over her keyboard as she finished her assignment, writing up her last description painfully. She stretched her back, spine popping from its hunched position over the newest Stark laptop.

"Stupid null hypothesis." she grimaced. "Stupid double-negative language. Stupid statistical analysis." she submitted her assignment through the online portal, cursing at her advisor for requiring her to do a half-semester internship in experimental-biology. Statistics weren't what she wanted to be doing with her life, but being a bio-engineering MD, well, she had a zillion credits to fill. Her final year of med school was crawling by, and she couldn't wait for graduation to come so she could finally get her MD and submit her thesis for her PhD. She'd already been accepted for a position with the infamous Helen Cho, and couldn't wait to begin research with nanotech genetics.

The loading bar on her assignment finally hit a hundred, and her assignment went through, six days early. All she wanted was to get back to her dorm and shower, hopefully it would be hot instead of lukewarm. She groaned as she stood, peering around to see that the library was empty around her. Don shoved her green binder and her laptop into her backpack, violently closing the zipper over the explosion of papers and garbage inside. She shuffled her feet as she zipped up her knee-length parka, tossing the hood up and patting her pocket to make sure her lanyard was still there. She checked her phone, bleary eyes reading the clock.

Two in the morning. Damn, she was lucky the library had twenty-four hour access. She dropped her phone back in her pocket, pulling on a pair of mittens and slinging her backpack up onto her shoulder. She winced at how heavy it was, and made a mental note to take out her biochemistry book until she'd need it again. She strode towards the stairwell, the automatic lights turning on once she tripped the motion sensors. Her feet clanged against the metal stairwell, the sound echoing down three stories to the ground floor. She saw one person lingering in the lobby, furiously writing in a notebook with an anatomy book open in front of them. She wondered what they were up to, absently yawning as she opened the glass doors. Her eyes rolled as she saw that it was snowing, again, for the third time that week. She saw a group of students stumbling in the snow, laughing with unzipped coats and barely-hidden flasks.

A Friday night in a snowstorm and there were still parties going on. She shivered at their exposed skin, zipping her jacket up the extra two inches to cover her chin. Her breath puffed out in clouds as she trudged through the uncleared sidewalks. It was gorgeous out that night, with the fat flakes lazily settling in the quiet. She yawned again, peering around at the beautiful scene. She approached the crosswalk, pushing the button with a sharp jab. Humming softly, she almost didn't hear the crunching footsteps of someone approaching behind her.

Almost being the keyword.

Her hand slipped into her pocket, fingers deftly rotating the cap of her pepper spray. She glanced surreptitiously behind her, and the sight she saw made her forget about using it.

A gorgeous man was staring at her, and her eyes roved over him without shame. Piercing blue eyes, just the right amount of stubble, dark shaggy hair, and to top it all off the man was huge. She could see muscle definition through his red henley and nearly drooled. He was an _angel_. She barely noticed that his clothes weren't appropriate for the weather, though she did notice that he stepped closer to her.

"A doctor?" he rasped in a sinfully deep voice. His clear blue eyes flickered to the hand that was still in her pocket and clouded over with something like suspicion.

"No, not a doctor." she shook her head, and his eyes darted back to her face. "I'm, ah, a medical student though."

"I need help." he took another step forwards, the gravel in his throat a clear sign he hadn't been speaking much lately.

"Are you okay?" she asked, fear finally beginning to ice in her veins as she realized this man was a stranger.

"Fix it." he pulled the neck of his henley over his shoulder, revealing something that stopped her heartbeat. Scarred flesh met shiny titanium. There was a deep gash along the edge that would require stitches, but that wasn't what had caught her attention. The prosthetic moved and nearly rippled like skin, and she felt herself reaching out to touch it. His hand, the one made of flesh, gripped her wrist in an instant. Her eyes shot to his face in alarm, but his eyes were clouded with confusion. "Can you fix it?"

"I, um, hang on, come with me." she stuttered as she turned back to the empty road, waving him to follow her across. "I have some tools in my room, but they won't be professional. I think I should take you to the hospital." she glanced back to his prosthetic arm, mouth watering at the advanced technology.

"No hospital." he nearly growled, causing her to halt in her mad dash. Should she make a run for it? She looked down at the arm again. Damn her curiosity.

"Okay, no hospital." she muttered, leading him forward again. She noticed now that his shirt wasn't just red, but also darkened in spots with blood. "What happened? Did you get mugged?" she asked, glancing over his outfit again. The man didn't reply. He was a little worse for wear, but he was huge. The more she looked, the more definition she could see. He was, well, almost uncomfortably thick. It made her throat dry. Most guys she'd been close to were fit, but she'd never met someone who rippled with so much strength. Jacob was… she didn't want to think about Jacob right now. She shook the thought off as they finally reached her building. She quickly yanked her lanyard out of her pocket and pulled the key card out, swiping it in the slot. It buzzed red and she swore under her breath, swiping it through slower until it lit up green. The door clicked as it unlocked, and she pulled the handle, letting him in first.

The main floor of the campus apartments was basically just a sad looking lobby. There were a few busted up armchairs and a fireplace that didn't actually work. The trash bin near the door was almost full, and there was an empty pizza box on a table in the center of the room.

"Here, we can take the elevator." she walked over to the metal doors, grimacing at the grimy handprints over it. She clicked the up arrow and waited, the man standing just a foot behind her. She wondered if he did this a lot. He obviously knew he was at a medical college, since he asked her if she was a doctor when he approached. Maybe he didn't have insurance. No, he'd have to have insurance with that gorgeous prosthetic. It could have been new Stark tech, but she subscribed to all of the medical journals, so she would be aware of that. Maybe it was a prototype. It had to have been, it was too sophisticated. Money couldn't buy that tech, not unless you were a zillionaire.

She stepped into the rickety elevator, wincing at the way the doors squealed shut. The man didn't look nervous about the old elevator, so he must not have minded that it was a little worse for wear. She pressed the button for the fourth floor, and there was a loud clanging noise as it brought them up slowly. She took the opportunity to check him out again. He had snug black jeans, and as he shifted on his feet she could see the muscles in his thighs flexing. The man oozed pure strength, and she couldn't help but feel attracted to him. He was gorgeous and strong, why did that have to be so freaking attractive?

"Stupid social darwinism." she muttered to herself. She felt her ears turn red as he gave her a confused look, and she pretended she hadn't said anything. The elevator dinged, and she heard a loud pop as the doors strained apart. He walked out first, and Don noticed he was surprisingly light on his feet even though she was pretty sure he wore steel toed boots. She noticed, for the first time, that a small backpack was hanging from his metal hand. She wondered what was in it.

He was too old to be a student, she mused, leading him down the hall. Maybe he was a teacher's aide? Or maybe he was on campus for a seminar. That made sense, due to his bionic properties. She stopped in front of her door, and he halted immediately after her. He had good reflexes. She pushed her card into the door, swiping in and out a few times before the damn thing unlocked. Once it opened, she walked inside first.

"You can take a seat at the table, I should have a suture kit somewhere." she gestured at her two-person dining table. The apartment was nothing special, it was pretty basic for a campus dorm. She had a kitchenette, bathroom, bedroom, and main area. There was a convenient hall closet that held her sparse medical supplies, but her bedroom was where the real magic took place. She had years of robotics knowledge under her belt, and kept all of her mechanic tools in there. Most nights she passed out on the couch, so it didn't really bother her to attempt to keep her personal life separate from school. Once she pulled out the small kit and prepped her needle, she got a dark gray rag and wet it. "This might hurt." she warned, turning to face him. Her mouth dried as she saw him, his red henley gone and replaced with golden muscled flesh. She tried to swallow but her mouth was just too dry, and she slowly approached him, her eyes raking down over him shamelessly.

He was _hot_. He was big, but not grossly so, with great definition and a small trail of dark hair leading down to the front of his pants. She clenched her teeth, beginning to wipe the wound clean.

It was a long, straight gash, but not from something like a knife. If she had to bet, she'd say a jagged piece of metal had got him good.

"What's this from?" she asked. No reply again. "Okay then. Uh, I'm going to start now, do you want any painkillers before I do?" she pulled out an iodine swab, cleaning the surrounding flesh to make sure there was no chance of infection. He didn't reply. She sighed, snapping on some gloves and examining the wound. She moved quickly, trying to keep the man from losing any more blood. His skin fit together nicely as she stitched, the edges closing almost seamlessly. When she was done, there was just a long red line with dissolvable stitches sticking out. "Let me wrap it up." she held up a finger to him as he reached for his shirt. "Also, don't put that thing back on. It's filthy." she pulled out a roll of gauze and a linen bandage, fingers deftly covering the wound. She couldn't deny his skin felt amazing under her hands, hot and hard as his muscles rippled with each slight movement. He was a dream to look at, a true wonderboy.

She stared at his metal arm as she tied off the bandage. It matched his other arm perfectly, in length, width, and fluidity. It had a red star on the shoulder, maybe a manufacturing copyright? It almost looked like a Soviet symbol.

"Who made you this? It's amazing." she briefly touched her fingertips to the metal before his human hand snatched her wrist again.

"Don't." his eyes glared up at her, and she felt a jolt of fear go through her again. She gulped, pulling free from his grasp.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" she glanced down at the shirt on the floor, noticing the backpack next to it. "Um, do you have a change of clothes? I can wash what you have on." she offered, trying to change the subject. He hesitated before nodding. "You, you can shower too, if you want. Um, I just need to wrap your bandage with cling film to keep it dry." he nodded again. She turned to one of the drawers in the kitchen before grabbing the yellow package, successfully covering the bandage.

He stood then, so she led him to the bathroom. He took his backpack inside with him, but opened the door a second later to toss out his pants, underwear, and socks.

Huh. So he was a boxer briefs kinda guy. She wondered what his ass looked like in them…

"Snap out of it, Donnie." she whispered to herself. "You're acting like a highschooler." she scolded, scooping up his clothes and heading to the washer. She threw it all in with a hefty amount of Tide, hoping the blood would all come out. She started the cycle, thankful that she had her own laundry closet, because bringing the bloody clothes to the laundry room would be very hard to explain. She hummed to herself as she cleaned up the kitchen, disinfecting everywhere that may have gotten blood on it. Her brows furrowed as she looked at the chair. "What's your name…" she murmured to herself. Had she even asked? She didn't think so.

The bathroom door clicked as she mused, and she whirled around to see the man exit. His damp hair was pushed back from his face, a water droplet trickling down his chin to his neck, disappearing under the neckline of a dark gray crewneck. This was a thicker fabric, making him look bulky, but no less sexy.

"Um, I realized I forgot to ask for your name." she said, snapping her eyes back up to his face. He had been examining the room, but his sharp eyes travelled back to hers. Holy shit, it was like he was staring into her soul. "My name's Donatella."

"Donatella." angels sang as his lips pursed around the words, a flawless italian accent dropping from his lips. She blinked, trying to boot up the part of her brain that knew how to speak.

"Y-yeah, but you can just call me Don. Or Donnie." she cleared her throat, her voice wavering. "Donatella is a mouthful. S-so, your name?" she asked. He just stared at her. "Come on, I just stitched you up for free. All I want to know is your name." her lips turned down at the corners, and she scoffed inwardly at her inadvertent pout. His eyes roved across her face, clearly noting her expression.

"Bucky." he replied in that delicious rumble. He took a deep breath after he said it, and she watched his impressive chest heave.

"Do you have somewhere to go, Bucky?" Don asked. "A hotel, or a friend's house… I can call you a cab if you need one." she lifted her phone to him.

"No." he admitted, raking his fingers through that glorious mop of hair. It was curling slightly as it dried, small waves framing those beautiful eyes. How the hell could one person be so attractive?

"You can stay here." her mouth offered before her brain caught up. She froze, no, no, _no_ Don, this was a stranger! He stared at her for a moment before giving a sharp shake of his head.

"No." she winced as he said it. She didn't want him to stay though! Or… did she? He was such a hottie, but also a complete stranger… Not to mention scary as hell!

"Okay, um, you can stay until your clothes are done though." she said. He nodded slowly, glancing over to the running washer. His stomach growled loudly. "Are you… are you hungry?" he glanced over to her suspiciously before giving another slow nod. He must have clenched his jaw, because his expression went from confused hottie to confused, chiseled greek god in a millisecond. "I can order a pizza." his eyes narrowed, and he looked out the dark window.

"Okay." he said softly.

"Are you allergic to anything? Do you not like anything?" she asked, scrolling through her contacts to find her favorite pizza parlor's number.

"No." he replied. God, it was like pulling teeth with him. She bit back a groan as she held the phone up to her ear. She quickly placed an order for an extra large pepperoni with an order of garlic knots. Once she confirmed her address she hung up and looked at him again.

"You can take a seat." she gestured towards the couch. He glanced at her warily before striding over, his long, strong legs pulling the dark denim tight over his backside. She gnawed on her lip, forcing herself to look in the other direction. "I'm going to shower quickly, I'll be out before the pizza gets here." she nearly ran to the bathroom.

She cranked the shower knob all the way up to boiling before gripping the counter, staring at her reflection.

"Get it together, you damn horndog." she hissed at herself. "Just because he's hot does not mean it's okay to ogle him like he's a piece of meat!" she scolded. She stripped quickly, shucking off her leggings and hoodie and wiping off all her makeup. Don stepped into the scalding shower, feeling her skin turn pink from the heat. She sighed as the water pounded away at sore muscles.

Why did she invite that man into her home? He was big, scary, and probably could kill her with a twitch of his pinky. And he had just been standing naked in this shower a few moments before. Rivulets of water would have streamed through his dark hair, down his broad, muscled chest and down to thighs that would-

"No!" she growled, cranking the knob all the way to the C, dousing herself with icy water. She yelped, but her dirty thoughts were thoroughly kept in check by the cold water. She quickly washed her hair and body, not bothering to shave her legs with the goosebumps covering them. She hopped out of the freezing stream as soon as she finished, her teeth chattering. She toweled off, shivering from the after-effects of the ice-water. "You deserved it." she muttered to herself. She knew it had been a while, almost a year since Jacob… She needed to keep it together for christs sake. She winced when she realized she didn't bring a change of clothes into the bathroom with her. She wrapped her hair up in a towel and tucked another one around her body before throwing her things from the day into the hamper. She unlocked the door and peeked out before rushing into the bedroom across the hallway, successfully avoiding the angel on the couch.

She dropped the towel and stepped into some underwear and a sports bra, then sliding on a large black t-shirt and a pair of gray woolen leggings. She yanked a comb through her frustratingly tangled brown hair and struggled into some warm socks, hoping to get rid of the chills from her shower.

"Dammit." she groaned as she smacked her funny bone into the wall, hissing as she rubbed the sore spot. She pursed her lips at her reflection, giving herself her daily pick-apart. She needed a nose job, and lip injections, and maybe some lash extensions too. If she could get cheekbone implants that would do wonders for her oval-shaped face and give her some more dimension. She sighed, pushing her hair back over her shoulders and leaving her room. Bucky was still seated on the couch, no longer staring out the window, but reading her thesis that she'd left on the coffee table.

"Did you write this?" he asked without looking up.

"Um… yeah, that's my thesis paper. I'm supposed to present it to the board in a few weeks so I can get my PhD." she noticed he was reading her section on robotic prosthetics. "So, your arm. Is it Stark tech?" he glanced up, finally, but his mouth was screwed into an unamused expression. "Can you at least give me a hint?" she sighed, exasperated when he didn't answer. He looked down, flexing his metal fingers.

"I can't tell you." he said. She opened her mouth, preparing to ask another question when the intercom at the door buzzed. She frowned, padding over to it and letting the delivery guy up. She rummaged through her purse, searching for a few bucks to leave as a tip. When he knocked, she finally found a five and a few ones and she headed towards the door. When she looked behind her, however, Bucky was no longer sitting on the couch. She whirled around, not seeing him anywhere in the main area. She opened the door, confused as to where the hell he had gone in the two seconds she had her back turned. Was this a dream? Some kind of sick perverted fantasy? Or worse, a sick joke?

"Here you go." the kid on the other side pushed the box into her arms, the bag of garlic knots sitting right on top.

"Thanks." she gave a polite smile, setting them onto the counter next to the door.

"I almost didn't get let up here." the delivery guy mentioned.

"Why's that, were they plowing or something?" she frowned, picking up the tip and handing it to him. It would make sense, since it was snowing, but usually they got started much later.

"No, I guess that there's some criminal on the loose." he shrugged, counting the bills before stuffing them into his pocket. "A bunch of suits stopped me, they thought he came through this area. They're asking if anyone has seen a guy with a metal arm. They seem pretty pissed that they lost him. Hey, thanks for the tip, have a nice night." the kid turned and walked down the hallway. Donatella stood there frozen.

"Criminal… metal arm…?" she murmured, in shock. She'd let a dangerous criminal into her home. The door slammed shut, a metal hand grabbing her elbow and shoving her face first into the door. She cried out as her head cracked against the doorjamb, feeling a strong body pressing her into it. Both of her hands were pressed between her back and Bucky, his metal hand holding her wrists together in a tight grip. His flesh arm was on her shoulders, holding her in place.

"Don't scream." he rasped into her ear. She felt her legs shaking as he pressed closer, his knees holding the backs of her thighs still. "I'm not going to hurt you." she wanted to tell him to say that to her pounding head, but thought better about saying any snarky comment at the moment.

"W-what d-do you w-want from me?" her voice quivered. "I h-helped you, p-please just take whatever y-you want." she felt him sigh, his breath warm against her cheek.

"I want," he took a deep breath, "to eat pizza." she blinked for a moment. Had she misheard him? He slowly stepped away, and she felt her arms and legs collapse like they were made of Jell-O. She curled into a ball on the floor, staring up at Bucky. "I'm hungry." he raised his eyebrows. The criminal, the wanted guy with a metal arm wanted to eat pizza? She would do what he said, then. She scrambled to her feet, picking up the box with shaking hands, bringing it stiffly over to the couch. She leaned over to set it down, but the paper bag filled with garlic knots slid off. She was too slow to catch it, but Bucky wasn't. His titanium fingers grasped the bag with ease, setting it on the table.

"H-here." she pulled a plate out of the cabinet, handing it to him.

"Thanks." he took it, sitting back down on the couch. She moved stiffly to the armchair, sitting perched on the edge as she watched him pull three slices out of the box and onto his plate. He finished one slice quickly, picking up the other before pausing to look at her. "Eat." he commanded. She stared for another minute, before his eyes narrowed and her shaking fingers reached out for the box. She lifted a piece to her lips, chewing slowly as she watched him cautiously. She barely tasted it, fear thrumming through her body at the memory of him holding her against the door.

"Why are they looking for you?" she asked. He gave her another look, swallowing his bite of pizza. He set the slice down and looked at her.

"I escaped." he opened the bag of garlic knots, and the smell made her stomach rumble.

"You were in prison." she concluded, taking another bite. He hadn't made any more moves towards her, and she was beginning to relax again. He hadn't killed her yet, which was a good sign.

"No." he shook his head sharply. She furrowed her brows. "That's not the police out there."

"The kid said the cops were-"

"It isn't the police." he turned his sharp gaze on her again, and she felt like a kid being scolded by their parents. He chewed his garlic knot before speaking again. "It's a cult. HYDRA. They had me prisoner for many years."

"A-a cult?" she squeaked. He nodded sharply. "How did you escape?" she asked.

"They kept me brainwashed. I was out, I was supposed to finish my mission and come back. My best friend helped me remember." he replied softly, his gaze clouding over again. "He told me I was Bucky. Then he killed my handler. Now they can't control me."

"How did they control you?" she leaned forward, extremely intrigued. He looked at her, wariness evident in his features. She sat back, realizing her mistake. "Did they threaten someone you loved?"

"I don't love anyone." she jumped at the sharpness in his voice. He set his plate on the table, standing up to peer out the window. He pulled backwards as if he had been burned, then yanked the curtains closed. It looked like he was done talking, but she needed one last question answered anyways.

"How do I know you're telling me the truth?" she asked, taking another bite. Those blue eyes whirled on her again, a frown tugging at the corners of his beautiful lips.

"You don't."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Unfold**

Don tried to open her bleary eyes against the harsh sun that leaked in through the window, but all she felt like doing was just going back to bed.

"Donatella." a very deep, very sexy voice roused her from sleep. She peeked at the doorway, seeing Bucky in a pair of black sweatpants that had once belonged to Jacob and a black tank top that he had been wearing under his red henley the previous day.

"Good morning, Baltimore." she yawned, sitting up and rubbing the sand from her eyes. She pushed her hair off of her face and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She lost one of her socks while she was asleep, and she cursed, rummaging through her blankets to find it.

"We aren't in Baltimore." he cocked his head in an adorably confused way. She grinned slyly at the view. His upper physique was on full display, and his hair was mussed from sleep.

"It's a movie reference." she waved him off as she found the sock. "I didn't think you'd still be here." she yanked it on over her foot.

"I can't leave. They're still outside looking for me." he frowned, crossing his arms. She peeked between the blinds, and sure enough there was a guy in a suit and aviators.

"So that means we can't go get breakfast?" she mumbled, half joking. But then his stomach growled again. She smiled to herself, pulling away from the window. "I can run to the dining hall and pick up some food for us." she offered. His eyes tightened, the blue even more stunning in daylight.

"You shouldn't go outside while they're here." his voice sounded strained.

"They must really want you back, huh?" she murmured, raking her eyes over him again. "I can't say I blame them." she was wondering why she was so chill with the situation. Then again, she had looked up 'metal arm dude' last night and found a bunch of leaked government files about HYDRA's experiments on a man and their successful brainwashing experiment. She read about Captain America and Bucky Barnes in World War II, and how Bucky had been declared dead after falling from a train in Siberia. Apparently he got picked up on the road to hell. She didn't tell Bucky she knew all about him, she figured it might scare him off. She was surprised she wasn't scared off. But… looking at those sad puppy dog eyes, there's no way he would hurt her.

When she complained about her head hurting before she went to bed the night before, he had looked truly upset. He had apologized profusely, and explained that he couldn't let her say anything to the pizza guy in order to stay safe. Somehow, she made the decision that he was alright.

"What happens if they catch you?" she asked, genuinely curious. His expression hardened and he looked down.

"They'll wipe me again." his voice was rough, gravelly as he said it. Her heart twinged at his face. She slowly stood and walked over, but stopped a good distance in front of him.

"You can hide out here, don't worry." she smiled reassuringly. He looked a bit uncomfortable at her offer. "We don't have to be best friends, but I don't want you going back to them either." she shook her head. He nodded hesitantly at her, and she moved around him to walk into the bathroom. "I can get you a toothbrush and stuff when I go to the dining hall, there's a little store on campus." she mentioned. He nodded slowly and disappeared back towards the living room. She groaned inwardly as she shut the door behind her, brushing her teeth and washing her face. Don left the bathroom then, going back to her room to quickly put on some makeup, concealing the bags under her eyes and adding some mascara. She frowned as she combed her eyebrows, adding some pomade to make them look better, and grimaced at how dry her lips looked. She slicked on some pink gloss and got changed into some black jeans and a gray turtleneck. She looked out the window again, seeing the streets and sidewalks had been cleared of snow already, and put on a pair of black ankle boots. She sighed as she looked in the mirror, wondering who she was trying to fool. No matter what she did she ended up looking a mess. She left her room then, picking at her pale pink nail polish.

"Do you want anything in particular? They usually have pancakes, sausage, eggs, bacon…" she trailed off as she glanced at him. He had changed back into the red shirt, his dark jeans hugging his legs deliciously. His back was turned, giving her a great view of his… assets.

"Anything's fine." he replied shortly, not turning to face her. She hesitated before picking up her coat. She shoved her keys into the pocket, pulling her hood up again as she prepared to leave. "Be careful." his voice was sharp, but he was still looking out the window. "I saw someone in the sky."

….

She huffed out an annoyed breath of air as she sidestepped the agent. He had tried questioning her on her way to the dining hall, but she snapped out something about being hungover and he left her alone.

"Miss, this is a matter of national security." he tried to stop her again.

"Dude, get it through your thick skull. I'm not interested in you." she rolled her eyes, walking towards the door. He scowled, and physically stopped her that time. She flinched as his hands gripped her shoulder too tightly, his grip bruising. She wrenched herself away, stumbling over her feet.

"Why do you have food with you, who are you bringing this stuff to?" he demanded, pointing at her bags and food containers.

"How are my shopping habits any of your business?" she replied coolly.

"If you won't tell me I'll have to request backup." her nostrils flared at his threat. She narrowed her eyes and took a step towards him. He took a sly step backwards, but glared right back down at her.

"This is harassment. I don't believe you're actually the police. You haven't showed me any identification, there haven't been any school-wide announcements about your so-called matter of national security, and now you're interrupting my breakfast." she snarled. "So, unless you want me to pepper spray you and leave you out here, you'll stay the hell away from me." his face hardened. She spun away, digging for her key card and swiping herself into the building. She was angry, and a little nervous, so she took the stairs two at a time to let off some steam. Don made it to the door panting, swiping in again. "Those agents of yours are really fucking rude."

"What happened?" Bucky demanded.

"He grabbed me, that son of a bitch." she grimaced, setting her bags down and wrenching off her coat. She pulled the neck of her sweater down just enough for her to see the red marks in the shape of fingers on her pale skin.

"Are you alright?" Bucky's eyes darkened. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Down, boy, I'll live. Barely hurts." she winced, sitting down. "Barely." she echoed. She began to pull things out of her bags, the first thing being to-go boxes with breakfast inside. Don grabbed a few plates again and set them out before opening the boxes. "Pancakes in here, this one's bacon and sausage, and there's eggs in here. I didn't know if you liked fried or scrambled so I just took some of each." she pushed the boxes to the middle of the table, and he sat across from her, giving himself insanely large portions. She raised an eyebrow, but figured that all those muscles needed serious fuel.

"What's that?" he nodded down at the other bags she had. She swallowed her bite of pancake before picking the first one up.

"I got you some stuff. I wasn't sure what you had in your knapsack, so I got some essentials." she handed him the bag with clothes. He frowned, picking up two different crewnecks.

"I figured you were a large, if they don't fit I can return them and get new ones." she mentioned. He set those on his lap before taking out a pair of jeans, and she was thankful she peeked at the measurement for those when she washed them yesterday. He picked up a brush next and gave her a look, but said nothing. Next he pulled out his toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste.

"I don't need all this stuff." he said lowly.

"You have two outfits at the moment. You think you're gonna cycle through them every other day?" she furrowed her brows. "Men." Don scoffed. He gave her a withering look. He held his hand out for the next bag, which she gave with a smirk. He pulled out a black baseball cap and sunglasses. "I thought you might like a disguise."

"For what?" he asked. She rolled her eyes and pointed out the window. He huffed, reaching into the bag again, grabbing a plain black hoodie. His face scrunched up as he looked in the bottom of the bag, and he gave her another piercing glare.

"If you only have two pairs of underwear that's gross." she pointed her fork at him before shoving a too-large bite of pancake in her mouth.

"Then don't think about my underwear." he growled.

"Angel, it's torture not to." she replied woefully before stabbing a sausage. "What are you waiting for? Eat." she gestured to his food as he watched her blankly. He ate quickly, much faster than the day previous. "When was the last time you had a whole meal?" she asked, and he just stared at her blankly before chewing slower. He gave a slight shrug. "What do you remember?" she pressed. He gave her another look.

"I remember thinking this medical college might have a doctor who could help me and then I could leave." that was the longest sentence she'd ever heard him say. She didn't know whether to be impressed or offended. But when his lips quirked up at her shocked expression, she felt heat flare through her body with his smirk.

"Did you just make a joke?" she demanded. His mouth dropped into his trademark scowl. She laughed lightly at his expression, clearing her plate and putting everything into the dishwasher. His eyes followed her as she moved through the room. She managed to clear away the trash from the table, since he'd put all the food on his plate at that point, and grabbed her backpack.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To my room?" she replied with a quirked eyebrow. He narrowed his eyes at her before nodding. She quietly walked from the room before dumping her backpack on the floor, sitting at her desk. Her computer was dead, so she quickly started charging it before peering down at her work in progress. She was working on an anti-seizure device that, when implanted, could hopefully stop the electrical disturbances as soon as they began. She placed the chip underneath her microscope and began soldering, praying for the best. It was hours before she left the room again. She had begun to get hungry, and figured if she could eat then Bucky was starving. When she entered the living room, he was on the couch with the remote, brows furrowed in disdain at the TV.

"This is stupid." he pointed at the show that was playing.

"You wound me! You can't hate Friends, that's literally the sitcom our great nation rests on." she flopped down into the armchair.

"It's stupid." he deadpanned, giving her one of his signature looks. She sighed, putting her feet up on the table, wiggling her monkey socks. "Why… do you have animals on your feet?" he looked truly distressed at this, and she threw her head back in laughter. Donatella couldn't stop at that point, she thought it was such a hysterical reaction. Every time she'd calm down enough to glance over at him, his 'I'm so done' face sent her back into a fit of giggles.

"Okay, I'm done now, sorry." she breathed out, pushing her hair from her face. There was a knock on the door, and she glanced at him, alarmed. His eyes were narrowed, and he frowned.

"Answer the door." he ordered.

"What if it's one of the people?" she murmured, standing slowly.

"Don't let any strangers in." he warned, getting up and moving towards the bathroom. She went up to the door and opened it slowly, blinking as her friend Karina pushed past her into the room.

"It took you long enough to answer!" she moaned.

"I was in the bathroom." she replied nervously, wringing her hands together. "You didn't text me, so I wasn't expecting anyone. I thought it might be one of those creepy dudes that have been standing outside." Karina frowned out the window, then flopped down onto the couch.

"Yeah, they're hella annoying. Anyways, did you get lunch yet?" she asked.

"Uh, n-no." Don shook her head. "I was thinking about it, though."

"Okay, we should go to Olive Garden then. I'm craving breadsticks like a mofo!" Karina complained, standing up.

"Yeah, I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes. I left my, uh, soldering stuff on so I have to clean up before a fire starts." Donatella fibbed.

"Okay, am I driving or are you?" she asked, flipping her glossy black hair over her shoulder. She had almond shaped eyes that looked killer with winged eyeliner, and pouty red lips that made Don jealous as hell.

"I can drive." she offered.

"Donnie, I don't know who I love more, you or your mercedes." Karina blew her a kiss before waltzing out the door. Bucky appeared from the bathroom a second after the door shut.

"I guess I'm going out to lunch, you'll be okay here right?" Don asked worriedly, wringing her fingers through the ends of her hair. Bucky stared at the door for a minute before answering.

"Yeah." his voice had taken on that gravelly quality again.

"Oh, shoot, I'll order you a sub and get it dropped off at the door. I'll tip online and everything so you won't have to let anyone see you, okay?" Don pulled her shoes on and threw her coat over her clothes.

"Okay." he replied quietly.

"You're gonna be here when I get back, right?" she asked, worry tight in her throat all of a sudden. He hesitated before nodding, and her relieved smile caused a flash of surprise to cross his face. "I'll see you in a few hours."

….

Donatella came back a little bit more tipsy that she had left as. Bucky was sitting on the couch again, but was reading her thesis paper again. She stumbled a bit as she kicked her shoes off, but walked over and flopped onto the armchair.

"Weren't you driving?" he asked without lifting his eyes from the page.

"Mmm, I was gonna, but then Karina wanted to Uber instead to get me drunk." she huffed. "Did your sub work out okay?" she asked, watching as he nodded slowly, turning his page. "Karina asked me to go bar hopping with her tonight. I told her no and that I had to practice my thesis speech." he didn't reply. "Obviously I don't, I've been prepared for months." she babbled. Bucky flipped the page again. "If you're going to read my shit, you can at least talk to me." she huffed. His piercing blue eyes glanced up at her for a moment, just long enough to see his annoyance, before he looked back down.

"I'm trying to read." he replied gruffly.

"Let me know if you find any errors." she yawned, maneuvering until her legs hung over the side and her head was no longer facing him. He didn't reply, the only noise he made was flipping the page again. She swung her legs as she grabbed the remote, flipping through the channels until she hit something she liked. They sat in silence for a while, and Don peeked behind her at him.

His hair was tucked behind one of his ears, pushed back enticingly. His eyes roved over the page, and he looked fascinated. His face was relaxed, his lips slightly parted, and his shoulders rising and falling with each breath he took. The stubble on his face was dark, but sharply defined his jawline and his killer cheekbones. He had a strong brow that she found oh so sexy, especially when they were furrowed in concentration like that. Her eyes roamed down his body, taking in the gentle way his surprisingly attractive hand held the paper. His shirt was pushed up to his elbows, revealing his gorgeous forearms. He sat leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees, the position revealing his taut thighs and thick torso nicely.

"Are you getting hungry?" she asked, and his eyes cut up to her face for a second before turning back to the page. He shrugged. She sighed, picking up her phone. "I can grubhub something."

"I don't know what that means." he replied with a look.

"I'll get food delivered." she explained. "Do you like McDonalds?" he shrugged again. "We can try that tonight. I'll get you a Big Mac, some nuggets, and a large fry. What else would you like…" she mused. "Maybe two large fries and a McDouble. That sound like enough?" she asked. He nodded. "What kind of drink do you want? Coke? Chocolate shake?" he frowned, looking up at her for a moment, then back down.

"Shake." he said.

"Man after my own heart." she sighed, fanning herself with her hand. Don opened the app and selected all the things she'd mentioned, as well as her own food. "Do you like dipping sauce?"

"I don't know."

"Okay, wow, I'll get one of each and you can try them all then. My personal favorite is either ranch, buffalo, or honey mustard. Honey mustard is great on anything though, a sandwich, some fries, cheese curds, salad…" she babbled, putting the order through. "I got a shake too, in case you were wondering. Chocolate, obviously, because those are just _bellissimo_. You know?" he nodded along as she talked.

"Are you from Italy?" he asked. She frowned, of course he'd ask something completely unrelated to her topic of choice.

"My parents were. They moved here when my mom got pregnant, they were both scientists and they worked for a company with prosthetics. So, that's why I'm interested in bio-engineering. In case you were wondering." she replied. He gave her another one of his looks where she had no idea what he was thinking.

"What happened to them?" he asked, those baby blues killing her inside.

"You're a curious cat." she chuckled. "Um… I don't know what happened to them." she shrugged. His eyebrows sunk down, a mixture between concerned and confused. "I feel like you don't really care to know the whole story, but when I was ten, I came home from school, and they were just both… gone." she sighed. "They were a part of the richest conglomerate in America at the time, and they had a trust fund for me that gained loads of interest over the years for me to go to college with. And that's not to mention my huge inheritance and super great nanny that had to raise me after that." she shrugged. "So, they didn't leave me on my own I guess. I'm not sure if they're still alive or not, or what ever even happened to them… The police never figured it out." Don revealed. He stared at her for a second before looking down at the page again, fiddling with the paper. He sighed as he glanced back up.

"You seem well adjusted." he mentioned. Don let out a chuckle, closing her eyes for a moment.

"It's hard to miss people who were never there in the first place." her voice wavered. His eyes cut through her again, and she swore she could feel those irises staring straight into her soul. This time when he spoke, it was directly to her.

"They probably got taken out by someone like me."

**There might not be a set update schedule for the story (I rarely do one) but I'll try and publish all the chapters around every third day, it shouldn't be too hard since this story is completed! I hope you guys like how it's going so far, it took me a while to finish!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Unravel Me**

"Try the buffalo first. It's a godsend." Don peeled open the first sauce cup.

"I don't think I like how it smells." Bucky frowned, peering into the bright orange container. She rolled her eyes and dunked a nugget for him.

"Open up, we can try ranch next. Or, if you're feeling frisky you can dip into both for buffalo ranch nuggets." she held the sauced nugget up to his mouth. He kept his lips closed, giving her his signature 'I'm so done with you' look. She rolled her eyes and let him old his own food, and he took a bite, chewing slowly before nodding.

"It's alright." he moved the ranch cup closer. "This one's better." he nodded.

"I hate sweet and sour, but you might like it." she pushed the next sauce up to him. He grimaced at it.

"I really don't like the way that looks." he admitted. She nudged it closer to him again, and he rolled his eyes before dipping the smallest bit. "That is disgusting." his face scrunched up and he pushed the sauce away.

"Good boy." she grinned, opening the barbecue. "This one's classic." she mentioned, and he ended up liking it. "Okay, now my own personal favorite." she excitedly gave him the honey mustard.

"It looks questionable." he frowned. She gave him a pleading look. He sighed and tried it. He chewed slowly again, and when he swallowed he shrugged. "Not bad."

"So you liked it?" she grinned.

"Never said that." he frowned again. "But yeah, I liked it."

"Great!" she cheered. He polished off the rest of his chicken nuggets, going between a few of the sauces he'd liked the most. Then he got to try the Big Mac.

"Why is there a bun in the middle?" He squinted.

"That's just what they do for burgers. It's like that for the McDouble too." He made a face, lifting each layer.

"The lettuce is brown." He mentioned. She chuckled, leaning back in her seat.

"It's fast food lettuce, it's never nice." He lifted the sandwich to his mouth, finally, and took a small bite. His face was neutral, until he took his second bite, which he immediately spit out.

"There's something in there." He crumpled his napkin up, searching through the layers again.

"Uh, yeah, it's called beef, cheese, lettuce, Big Mac sauce…" she trailed off.

"What are these green bits?" He lifted his bun, pointing out some relish.

"That's called pickle relish, and it's part of the Big Mac sauce. You don't like it?" She asked. He tentatively took another bite, swallowing it quickly.

"Not really." He shook his head.

"Yeah, it must be an interesting texture." She mused, watching as he finished the sandwich. "You didn't dislike it enough to not eat it?"

"I was raised not to waste food." He replied, beginning to eat the McDouble. "I like this one better."

"Really? I prefer the Big Mac. Did you try the fries yet? They're the best fast food fries. Perfect in every way." She sighed, eating a few from her own box. He picked one up, taking a tentative bite. He nodded. "Also, you can dip them in your shake. It's really good." She mentioned. His face quickly turned into that cute disgusted expression. She chuckled. "Don't knock it til you try it!" She teased, dipping a fry into her chocolate shake and watching his reaction. His hand hovered over his fries, and he slowly picked one up, copying her movements. He hesitated before eating it, and his expression was unreadable for a moment. He gave a slow nod, repeating the action with another fry. "I told you!" Don cheered.

"I don't get it. It shouldn't taste good, but it does." His face twisted as he glanced between the food items. She shrugged as she continued to eat, and he finished his meal a lot quicker than she did.

"What's on the agenda for tonight, Buck-o?" Don asked. He shot her a withering glare, gathering up his trash and putting it in the wastebasket. "So you don't like being called that. Duly noted." She chuckled. "Maybe a movie?" He shrugged. "I can't read your mind, you know, so some verbal nuances will go a long way." Bucky sighed, pushing his seat back and standing. His fists flexed, revealing the veins and tendons in his still exposed forearm, and his prosthetic arm mimicked the way his real arm looked. The metal glinted in the low light, the weak winter sun already down at the horizon.

"It doesn't matter." he replied. She sighed, standing and moving towards the living room.

"Any favorite movies?" she asked. He stood by the table, not turning to face her. He stared at the sink for a while, then sighed.

"I don't know." he revealed. She felt her lips purse into a frown, a twinge hitting her heart. She hadn't missed the part in his records that said his memories were wiped. He had forgotten his past.

"I'll pick then, I hope you like chick flicks." she grinned, ignoring his admission in order to keep things light. His eyebrows came down again as he looked at her, his arms crossed in front of his chest. She bustled around the living room, turning the television back on and loading up netflix. She went to the hall closet and pulled out a few extra blankets, knowing Bucky probably wouldn't let her use his. He watched her, bright eyes alert as they tracked her movement through the room. She flopped down into the armchair, scrolling through a few movies before stopping on one. "Well? Are you going to join me?" she asked, tucking herself under her blanket as the movie began to load.

He sighed again, crossing the room with those delectably long legs. He stretched out on the black leather couch, the dark color making his exposed skin stand out. In the dim light, his eyes were dark blue, one of the more gorgeous shades she'd seen those eyes take on. She settled into her seat as she watched him adjust, pushing a pillow behind his back and grabbing her spare quilt. He looked almost cute, with sleepy eyes reflecting the light, his hair falling off his face as his head rested against the back of the couch.

Donatella yawned as the beginning scene lulled her into a comfortable state. One of her favorite actors was in this movie, and she moved to tell Bucky this fact when she noticed his eyes were drooping shut, the sunlight almost gone from the room. She smiled to herself and let him be, knowing he could probably use the rest.

She wondered how he'd slept the night before. She went to bed before he did, but he'd also woken up before her as well. She gnawed on her lip, hoping he was doing alright.

The movie droned on, but quickly her attention was taken off the screen when she heard a noise. It took her a moment to realize it was Bucky. She watched, waiting to see if he would do it again.

It wasn't a good noise, it was sharp gasps and whimpers. He must have been having a nightmare. She felt her throat tighten. His life had been hard, she understood that he must have a hard time escaping the bad memories. She got up when his face crumpled into an expression she'd never seen. He looked _scared_. Tiptoeing gently over, she cooed to him.

"Hey, angel, it's okay. It's just a dream." she reached out, smoothing her hand over his forehead. That was a mistake. His hand popped up, the flesh one, and wrapped around her throat as his eyelids snapped open, those blue eyes piercing and cold, but unseeing. He had her pressed down on the floor, his metal arm reaching to meet his other hand, successfully closing her windpipe. "B-Buck-" she gasped, her hands beating against his solid chest that usually she'd appreciate, but now feared.

She continued to thrash as his fingers tightened around her throat. He could probably snap her windpipe in a second if he wanted to, and she wouldn't be able to do a thing about it. She wished she had her pepper spray, but it was across the room. Black spots danced through her vision as her fingers pried at his hands, and she knew in just a few moments she'd be a goner.

His eyes flashed recognition, _finally_, and his hands left her throat. She gasped in, air choking her after its absence. She sat up, coughing until her throat felt raw.

"Are you okay?" she whispered hoarsely, and his eyes flashed into a new emotion. They were red rimmed, angry, loathsome, and yet mournful. He stood up quickly, towering above her. Those eyes glared down at her.

"Am _I _okay?" he repeated, his fists clenching again. She slowly nodded. "I could have killed you."

"You were having a nightmare." she coughed out. "It was my bad, I shouldn't have tried to wake you. You didn't mean to." she rubbed her bruising throat, wincing at the tender flesh. His eyes were looking at her throat now, a sad look in his eyes. They began to glisten, the redness emboldening the blue into a bright crystal, and a solitary tear dripping down his cheek.

"I didn't mean to." he choked out, collapsing back onto the couch. "I didn't mean to." he held his hands up, shaking as he examined them.

"Bucky, it's not your fault." she climbed up to sit next to him, tentatively patting his arm. He didn't move, but his whole body was shivering. He didn't look at her, only at his hands, but he stared straight through them.

"Not my fault." he echoed. She squeezed her eyes shut, feeling her heart squeeze for him. None of it really was his fault. Nothing he did was in his control. She felt herself moving before she could stop herself, and her arms wrapped around his shoulders, embracing him tightly. He didn't move for a moment, just kept shivering, but then a choked sob bubbled from his chest, and he turned, crushing her to his chest and burying his face into her hair. She felt the wetness from his tears, the puffs of hot air from his sobs, and she felt her own eyes well up with the emotion of the moment. She rubbed soothing circles up and down his back, forcing herself to not think about how good his body felt against hers. His shoulders were shaking with the force of his cries, and she traced her fingers across them, trying to rub some of the tension away. His sobs quieted as he melted bonelessly into her.

"It's okay." she cooed softly, ruffling the hair at the base of his neck. He slowly pulled back, a stoic look back on his face.

"I'm so sorry." his metal fingers traced the already-darkened bruises.

"It's fine, Bucky." she gave a sympathetic smile, the cool metal soothing her skin. "What was the dream?" she regretted asking as soon as his face hardened, his whole body stiffening at her question. She frowned, grabbing his hand to give comfort. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that." she shook her head, running her thumb over his knuckles.

"My first kill." he replied hoarsely. Her own shoulders tensed at this, and she gave him what she hoped was a sympathetic look. "Hydra had me try my arm out the first time. They wanted to see if I could use it properly. I strangled a man until he was purple, and then I snapped his neck." she flinched, one hand unconsciously rubbing her bruised flesh. She looked up into his eyes, but they were unfocused, and he was far away, years away, reliving that moment. She sighed, touching his chin gently.

"That wasn't you." she reminded him. His eyes turned sharp as he looked down at her, his eyebrows coming down to shadow his expression.

"It was." he rasped. "I did all those things."

"They made you do them, Bucky. They took your memories and brainwashed you into becoming a mindless drone. Nobody deserves that, and you definitely don't deserve to blame yourself for your own torture." she practically ordered him to stop feeling sorry for himself. He glanced down at their hands that were still intertwined, his eyebrows furrowing again. He sighed once again, shaking his head before relaxing into the back of the couch. "Do you want me to restart the movie?" she asked, settling next to him and pulling the blanket over both their laps. It was near the end, but it was long, so there was still a good thirty minutes left.

"No." he replied, closing his eyes again. She squeezed his hand, keeping an inch between them in order to let him have his own space. Not that she didn't want to be closer to him. Don would climb that man like a tree if she had the opportunity. But now was not the time to think about things like that, especially because of his recent mental break. He was healing, recovering slowly from his time spent in hell. Those people outside were the monsters, taking him from his life and thrusting him into a world of pain and anguish. And they had the audacity to try and get him back… she felt angry at them. How dare they put him through this? What the hell had Bucky ever done to deserve any of the pain he'd gone through? Absolutely nothing. They deserved ten times, no, a thousand times worse than what they'd done to him. She wanted to make those people suffered for their crimes against humanity.

She would make sure they'd get what was coming to them.

….

"What are you doing?" Bucky appeared in her doorway. She had just brought back breakfast for him, and apparently he'd eaten faster than usual, because he was already bored and needing attention. He was like a little lost puppy and she thought it was so cute half of the time.

The other half, however, sucked ass. She was attempting to re-wire her latest project, stripping wires from their protective coating and soldering them into place. But she kept burning the shit out of her fingers.

"I'm busy." she murmured, sucking on her finger. It hurt like a bitch because she kept getting the same area each time. She peered down at her handiwork, dubbing it good enough for the time being before turning off her soldering supplies and going back to her notebook. She didn't notice Bucky approach on light feet, and she jumped when he spoke from directly behind her.

"What's that?" he pointed at the contraption in front of her. She sighed at the mess of wires and metal.

"It's a work in progress." she pushed some stuff to the side, pointing out the robotic contraption. "It's supposed to be a mechanical arm, something that can help with surgery," she slyly glanced at his gorgeous prosthetic, "but it keeps wigging out and flipping around." she sighed, tugging her hair in frustration.

"Why is it wired in series? It should be in parallel with each specific moving part." he pointed out.

"Well, if I do that, then the parts move in a sequence instead of one fluid motion." she replied, pointing to her notebook. He peered down at her scrawled handwriting, then sighed and pointed to an equation that he seemed to take issue with.

"No, they'd move all together as long as you use the correct amperage, which you aren't." he mentioned. She sputtered, peering down at her notebook and trying to find issue with what he said.

"How the-how'd you know that?" she demanded, quickly going to pull her amp towards her and increasing her voltage. He gave a tiny smirk at her reaction, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of swooning at his handsome face. When her hand moved correctly for once, she turned around to beam at him, tossing her notebook to the floor and spinning in her chair. "God, I could kiss you right now!" she squealed, and his face dropped and he took a step back. "Oh my lord, relax, I'm not going to, I just said I could." she rolled her eyes at his reaction. His shoulders dropped in relief, but he still looked over her work curiously.

"How did you get it all to move like that?" he asked, watching the repetitive motions go through the hand.

"By fixing the amperage, like you said." her brows furrowed as she watched him reach out to fiddle with the wires. He pursed his lips, picking up her notebook and flipping through a few pages. "It's basic robotics, but I'm an engineering student, so I don't always have to work through the mechanics on my own."

"I've never seen one of these created outside a lab before." he peered back down at her dinky little robot. "It's really impressive."

"Honestly, thanks, but I think Tony Stark has been making things ten times more advanced than I have when he was half my age." she replied, scratching the back of her head. "You seem interested in this kind of stuff. Did you ever go to college?" he tensed at her words.

"No." he shook his head slowly, putting the notebook back down. "I remember going to the world expo, in '39, and I saw people dreaming of things like this getting made by people just like you." he smiled. "Sometimes I'm glad I got to see this stuff happening with my own eyes." he looked wistful, and kinda mournful at that. Her heart ached. Bucky would've been dead now, or near death, but he would have witnessed all these changes firsthand. He would have had a cute little wife by his side, probably a bunch of handsome kids, and he would have been happy had it not been for those monsters that ruined him.

"Here." she dropped out of her chair, crawling over to her bed to pull out a bin. She rummaged around in it for a bit, pulling out a few dusty books that she hadn't used since she got her bachelor's degree. "You might find these interesting." there were an array of things, basic robotics, physics, computer science, biology. He stared at them blankly as she held them out to him. "They won't bite, come on dude, they're heavy." she wiggled the really, really thick stack in front of him. He tentatively reached out, picking up the stack of textbooks. He seemed to like reading, a lot based on the amount he'd thumbed through her thesis paper. Bucky brought the stack back out to the living room, finally leaving her to her homework in peace. She had a six page paper on proper waiting room etiquette that she was just dying to finish.

Turning off her surgery-bot, she slumped back into her chair, opening her laptop to see she only had a paragraph to go. Whoever let her decide on a combined degree was an idiot. She couldn't believe that the next day she would have to go back to her student rotation at the clinic on Monday. It felt like she and Bucky had been in a little bubble for the last day, it seemed so much longer than it actually was. She was in her psychiatry rotation at the clinic, which she thought was a waste of her time and talents due to her bioengineering focus, but maybe it could help her with figuring out how to help Bucky. At least then she would be doing something useful with those skills.

She groaned audibly as she tapped out the last few letters, checking her bibliography and submitting the damn paper into the class portal. She sighed in relief, only having a few chapters to read from her diagnosis coursebook before she'd be done with the horrible work. Why did she decide on medical school again? It was hard to figure out. At least she graduated in less than two months. Picking up her big book of medical symptoms, she felt her stomach growling. Skipping breakfast hadn't been smart, but she had been eating a lot with Bucky around, and she didn't want to add on any more pounds than she needed. God, it seemed like he'd been around forever, when it had only been a full day. She groaned as she read the term 'vaginal secretion and odor' and closed the book.

"Okay, gross, I'm done for now." she muttered, kicking around her room before standing in front of the mirror. Her straight hair was frizzy, tied back in a low ponytail. Her turtleneck was black today, but had a knitted pattern that made up for the boring color. She had light wash jeans on, a pair that fit her thighs nicely, but lacked definition in the waist, so she'd cinched everything in with a shiny black belt. She was wearing another pair of animal socks, elephants instead of monkeys. Her face was pale, even with bronzer, and her round hazel eyes looked sunken underneath her pitiful attempt at winged eyeliner.

Freckles peeked out from beneath her full-coverage foundation, and she fought the urge to add more powder to her slightly shiny nose. Her lips were still thin, and she just looked tired. Maybe she could take a nap instead of finishing her reading.

Don wondered what Bucky was up to. Tiptoeing out to the living room, she peered around the corner to see him cuddled under a blanket, a physics book cracked open on his legs. His eyes roved hungrily over the words on the page, and she smiled at the sight. He just wanted to learn, anything and everything it seemed. She thought she'd have to get him more books from the library in a few days. She paused. A few days… how long was he going to be staying? The thought of him leaving made her stomach twist uncomfortably. He seemed to finally have noticed her presence, blue eyes snapping up as his face closed off.

"Do you want a grilled cheese?" She peeled herself off the wall, stepping hesitantly towards him. His face opened up for a moment, some sort of wistful look flickering through his eyes before he became stoic again.

"Sure." Bucky shrugged. She gave him a polite smile, that dark feeling nagging at the back of her mind again. When would he leave? Once the HYDRA agents backed off? She pulled a bag of shredded cheese from the fridge, dropping it onto the counter before turning the range on. It was electric, so she knew it would take ages to heat properly. So she buttered her bread and began heating the pan up slowly, Bucky had gone back to reading behind her, and she puttered around the kitchen nervously. Maybe he would leave soon. And she'd be… alone again. She'd have Karina to come over once in a while, but having someone always there waiting for her was nice. It kept the bad thoughts away, those lonely hateful things that crept up in the middle of the night. The ones that silently choked you with tears and self-loathing, where there was no escape from the pain.

Those nights happened more often than not since Jacob left. She felt her body tense at the thought of him. She slapped some bread down into the hot pan, sprinkling cheese over the bread and putting a lid to trap the heat and melt the cheese. She buttered her next piece as she let it cook, sighing frustratedly to herself. She threw the piece of bread on top and flipped the sandwich, wincing at the nearly burnt side. She made a mental note to take the other side off the heat sooner as she prepped her next sandwich.

"Here, you can have this first one, it's a little overdone." She tossed it into a plate and set it on the table in front of him.

"Thanks." He murmured, his metal hand reaching down absent-mindedly, his eyes still roaming the pages of the book. She made him a second sandwich right away before making hers, and she slumped in the armchair, chewing without tasting. She stared straight ahead at the wall, eyes unseeing as she thought about the days leading up to Bucky's arrival. She'd been dreadfully lonely, only going between her room, the library, and the cafeteria. She'd fallen into a slump since Jacob, barely going out on weekends with Karina anymore. Her only friend had just about given up on her. Lunch the day previous had been the first time they'd hung out outside her dorm in a long time, and even then it was just because she had to keep Bucky hidden. She blinked, startled from her reverie at a hand prodding her shoulder.

"What?" She shook herself out of her stupor, turning to face Bucky who'd apparently gotten up off the couch and over to her side without her noticing.

"I asked if you were okay." He frowned, moving backwards to perch on the edge of the couch cushion. She gave him a reassuring smile.

"I'm just fine, just a little out of it today." She chuckled sheepishly. His frown deepened, obviously not buying it. "Sorry, I think I might take a nap. I didn't sleep well last night." She faked a yawn, standing quickly and grabbing her plate. "Let me know if you get hungry." She threw the plate in the sink and scurried into her room, shutting the door hard behind her. She felt bad, leaving him like that, but she didn't know what to do. All these thoughts of Jacob in her head caused her heart to clench and her fingers to tremble, and she knew Bucky could read her better than any book. It must have been all that assassin training, being able to figure people out at a glance. She climbed into bed, pulling her blankets over her head with a quivering sob. Jacob.

Thinking about that last interaction hurt. She hated that she missed him, hated that she still dreamed about him. She hated that she was still got scared when she saw someone that resembled him on the street, her breath hitching in her throat at the thought of his face. He was roguishly handsome, sandy blonde hair and deep brown eyes that she could never quite read. He always had some form of smirk playing across his lips, and whenever he faced her with that look she was a goner. Her eyes itched when her throat tightened, thinking about that last time. He didn't look happy. She wasn't either, she supposed, but that smirk was a scowl and those pretty brown eyes were angry and he'd raised his hand against her. That was her last straw. He'd turned her face black and blue for the last time. She called the cops, tossed him out on his ass, and told him she'd never wanted to see him again.

But she mourned those happy times. If she could have seen him one more time, one more of the good times, things might have been different. Karina had held her as she sobbed, a puffy black eye and split lip stinging from the tears she'd cried over him. Karina was pissed that he'd done those things to her, but Don just wanted to know where she had gone wrong. Why wasn't he happy with her? Why did he hurt her? Was it out of disappointment? Rage? Was it just because he was drunk? She felt her face get wet from her tears as her sobs wracked her body. Suddenly, the blanket was snatched from her body and she peered up, ashamed at Bucky hovering over her.

"Don't… don't look at me." She weakly pressed her face into her pillow, shuddering as she forced the tears to stop.

"What's wrong?" He demanded, sitting down next to her on the bed. His metal fingers gripped her shoulder, turning her body so she was looking at him.

"I-it's nothing." She hiccuped, wiping her face and grimacing at the black mascara that was apparently all over her face. She tried to sit up, but Bucky's flesh hand had wrapped around her waist and tugged her into his lap. She felt her fingers grip at the soft cotton of his black crew neck, and the way his hand tenderly splayed across her back made her lose it. She bawled, surely soaking the shirt with black mascara tears.

"Donatella." His voice came out light and comforting. "What's the matter, doll?" She felt her body sag at the term of endearment. Had he called her that before? She couldn't remember.

"I'm sorry." She sniffled, pulling back in an attempt to compose herself. "I'm just… it's hard to explain." She wipes her face again, relieved to see that there was no more dripping mascara.

"What happened?" He asked soothingly, his palm smoothing up and down her back comfortingly. She relaxed a bit more, slumping further into his embrace.

"It's just… my ex." She chuckled sadly. "Kinda pathetic that I'm still crying over him, I haven't seen him in months." She sighed, tugging her hair.

"Bad breakup?" He sympathized, eyes flashing with some unreadable emotion.

"Worse than you could imagine." She laughed again without humor. Another shuddering breath wracked through her body, and he tightened his grip. "I called the cops on him." She admitted. His hand stopped.

"Why?" He asked cautiously. She rolled her eyes a bit, not really wanting to reveal the whole story.

"I had to report him… for assault." Don sighed, trying to pull away. His arm tightened around her, and the mask he usually wore dropped, revealing his horrified expression. Those blue eyes were so filled with concern that it made her want to slap him. She was _fine_. Why couldn't people see that?

"He _hurt_ you?" The shock seeped away, slowly being replaced with rage. She winced, not expecting that reaction. She sorted through her response carefully before answering.

"It wasn't… bad. A couple of times he'd come over angry about something, and he took it out on me I guess. It was usually something I could ignore, a slap, or a swing. Sometimes a shove. He'd make up for it, and he felt bad, honestly. But that last time…" she shuddered, pulling her knees up to her chest. "It got worse. And I thought to myself, why am I putting up with this? Why do I think I deserve this?" She shrugged. "He was just so mad. Thought I'd been cheating on him or something. I don't know where he got that idea, and now I guess I'll never find out." She finished. His hand had continued moving along her shoulder blades, giving her enough courage to finish her story.

"He sounds like a real asshole." He grimaced, his lips pursing in a disgusted sort of fashion. She barked out an unamused laugh.

"That's what everyone says." She replied. She sighed, untangling herself from his surprisingly comforting embrace. "Sorry, I didn't mean for that whole freak out to happen."

"Don't apologize." He shook his head, standing again. "I just needed to make sure you were okay."

"Thanks." Her voice fell softly as he walked from the room.

How could a rough, gruff man still be so sweet?

**Here's the new update! Thank you guys so much for being so supportive of the story so far, it means a lot to me. I hope everyone that reads this enjoys it! 3**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: PRBLMS**

"God, I need some sugar." Don moaned as she closed the door behind her. Her rotation at the clinic that day had been especially brutal, but it was her last one of the week. She worked Monday through Wednesday, but had classes Thursday and Friday, keeping her busy as all hell. She glanced around the living room, frowning when she didn't see her new 'roommate.' "Bucky?" Her stomach twisted with worry. She tentatively walked towards the bathroom, hearing the shower running. She sighed in relief. For a moment, she thought he'd left. The campus had been quiet for a few days, no sign of any HYDRA agents, but he hadn't mentioned leaving. Maybe he felt safe. Maybe he _wanted_ to stay.

He had warmed up to her a bit over the few days they'd been together, and they had a little routine going. She would wake up, grab breakfast and bring it back for them, then she'd get in her scrubs and leave for work. While she was gone, she'd order food and send it to her room for Bucky, making sure to note for them to leave it outside the door. Then, once she got home, she would flop on the couch before starting something for dinner, whether it be microwaved meals or takeout. Then she'd do some homework before putting something on the TV for them to watch. Sometimes she'd doze off in the living room, and Bucky would apparently carry her to her room and put her to bed. It was sweet of him, but she wouldn't mention that to him. God forbid she give him a serious compliment.

She had just finished changing out of her dirty scrubs when Bucky came out of the bathroom with damp hair and only a towel tied around his waist. He blinked at her, stretching his shoulders as heat steamed off of his glorious golden skin. Her eyes fell on the stitched wound, or, well, the place where the wound had been.

"It's gone." She jumped forwards, fingers tracing over the seamless skin. His hand moved up, wrapping his fingers around her wrist, halting her caress of his warm chest.

"I heal fast." He replied, dropping her hand. She smiled sheepishly.

"I'll say." She murmured, eyes taking in the view.

"You can stop checking me out now, I'm going to get dressed." he mentioned dryly. This sort of banter was normal now, and she gave him a cheeky grin in reply. He disappeared into the living room to grab some clothes from his bag.

"I should get you a suitcase, living out of a backpack is unnecessary." she frowned, tapping her chin. He shot her a look as he re-entered the bathroom.

"A backpack is easier to take on the run, a suitcase is too bulky and difficult to transport." he said as he opened the door. He was wearing one of the newer pairs of jeans she'd bought him, but had on the same dark gray crewneck that he'd wore the first night. He looked so handsome in these unassuming colors, it was incredible.

"I have a proposition for you." she strode behind him as he walked back to the kitchen to peer in the cupboards. They were very low on groceries.

"My answer is probably no." those blue eyes peeked over to her as she hopped onto the counter. She laughed at that, his surly attitude endearing to her.

"I was going to ask if you wanted to come grocery shopping with me. Since, you know, you've eaten me out of house and home in the four days I've let you stay." she rolled her eyes, and he closed the cabinet he had been rummaging through. All he would have found in there was some crackers and peanut butter, which were good, but the prospect of newer, _better_ food seemed to appeal to him. His eyes lit up for a moment before the reality of the situation hit.

"How am I gonna get to the grocery store? I'm a wanted criminal." he replied dryly. She gave him a sneaky smile, rushing to her bedroom in a millisecond. When she returned, he gave her an exasperated look. "You're joking." he deadpanned as she handed him her ideas. A pair of fake hipster glasses, a black beanie, and a red scarf.

"With your beard and your hair tucked up, nobody's gonna recognize you. The glasses are just because I think you'd look hot with them on." she shrugged. He rolled his eyes and flipped his head down, stuffing his damp hair into the hat in one swift movement. He pushed the glasses on next, then wrapped the scarf around his neck.

"I look stupid." he sighed, shaking his head. "The baseball cap would be better."

"They're expecting you to dress under the radar. But if you dress like a snob, they won't look twice." he frowned at her reasoning, fiddling with the ends of the scarf. He eventually caved.

"You know, you're smarter than you look." he smirked, tugging his hoodie on over his sweater and slipping his boots on.

"Don't flatter me that much, I was wrong about my whole hipster-librarian fantasy. Glasses don't suit you." she frowned at the fake lenses with a sigh. He gave her that special look that she liked to think was reserved just for her, the one that made him look constipated and frigid at the same time. "I like the scarf, though. Red is quite striking on you." she mentioned, grabbing her parka and zipping it up to her neck. She slipped on some snow boots and grabbed her purse, leading him out the door. He had put on a pair of gloves, which helped to conceal his identity perfectly.

"If this doesn't work," he said lowly, pressing himself tightly to her side, "I want you to run to a populated area and leave me." she felt a shiver run down her spine at his nearness, but quickly composed herself.

"I can handle myself. I'm great with pepper spray." she waggled the canister in his face before shoving the outside door open. The light was beginning to dim, and she led him towards the parking lot for her building. Her black Mercedes coupe was parked in her designated spot, and she hit the button to unlock it without attracting any attention, and there were no obvious HYDRA agents lurking nearby.

"This… is your car." he halted at the hood, his hand reaching down to smooth over the shiny black paint.

"Yeah, she's new. I gifted her to myself when I landed an internship I'd been pining for." she swung the drivers side door open, sliding into the leather seat with practiced ease. He stared for a few moments on the outside of the door before getting into the passenger seat. She started the engine with a satisfying hum and pulled out of the lot, heading towards the supermarket. "Before you ask, you can't drive it." she mentioned as he poked around the interior.

"I wasn't going to." he scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. "I haven't driven a car in seventy years. I'll stick with motorcycles." he huffed. She eyed him indirectly. Huh, the man in a motorcycle jacket, those thick thighs gripping the seat… it suited him. Sexy and dangerous. When she pulled in the Target parking lot, he had that look on his face again.

"Do you not like Target? Everyone likes Target, come on." she turned to face him after parking.

"There's a lot of people here and only one exit." his eyebrows furrowed. "I'm not sure if this is the greatest idea…" he trailed off, crossing his arms over his chest. She touched his arm gently.

"Look. Nobody's going to expect you to just waltz into Target for chips and dip. Now, we have to move fast, because I'm getting hungry and cranky. I'll buy you anything you want as long as you just get inside the building dammit." she swung her door open with her statement and stepped back out into the frigid air. He quickly followed, tugging his hat lower over his forehead and pushing his glasses up. But immediately he began to walk with some sort of imperceptible change, and she knew that if she hadn't known who he was she'd think he was just some douche that liked kale and ate hummus for fun.

"Where to first?" Bucky swiftly grabbed a cart for her.

"Hmm… oh, one minute." she left his side for a moment, walking into the heaven that was the clothes section. She fingered a slinky, sparkly purple dress and he sighed as he walked up behind her.

"We came here for food?" he reminded her, his tone holding exasperation tightly.

"Yeah, I know, I just love this…" she frowned at the piece before putting it back. "It wouldn't suit me, though." she turned, coming face to face with a mannequin in a bikini. "Oh, that's so cute!" she gushed, picking up the two piece off the rack.

"What do you need a swimsuit for?" Bucky nearly groaned, picking up a strappy bikini with a look of confusion.

"Spring break is in a week." she shrugged, then put that piece down too. "I don't think that would look right on me either." she sighed, leading him away from the clothes.

"What do you mean these wouldn't look right on you? You look good in anything." he murmured, following close behind her with the cart. Her lips pursed as she glanced back at him.

"Yeah, right." she gave a soft laugh. "Thanks for believing in me, but I've got a specific body type that requires hours of trial and error with clothes. I think I'd know if I look good in just anything."

"Prove it." Bucky stopped, turning the cart back around towards the clothes. "Put the dress on."

"I'm not gonna-what are you doing?" she demanded as he threw the dress in the cart before going around and picking out more things.

"You already picked out my clothes, so I'm doing the same for you." he squinted at a shiny black miniskirt and tossed it in with the other things.

"Buck. We're here for food!" she trailed helplessly behind him. "Oh, hell no that is so not my style." she grimaced at the low-cut wrap top he'd put in the cart.

"Don't care." shaking his head firmly, he pushed the cart over to the swimsuits again. "You're trying it all on." he put the same swimsuit she'd discarded earlier into the cart and headed towards the changing rooms.

"Well, I'm not showing you." she jogged after him, a whine tinging the edge of her voice.

"Oh yes you are." he shoved her into a room with the clothes and shut the door. She could see his feet from under the stall and she sighed, deciding to pair the skirt and the top together to start. She blinked at herself in the mirror after she wrestled the tie into something decent. She looked alright, but this was nothing that she'd ever have picked for herself. The skirt was short, something she was used to, but extremely tight against her ass, and it made her curves look more pronounced. The top amplified her cleavage slightly, not excessively. She wouldn't pair these together in the future, but she would wear them separately.

"Um, I don't want to show you, but I like them." she called through the door, wringing her hands nervously.

"Just come out." he sighed, an exasperated tone taking over his voice. She frowned at herself in the mirror, noting the exposed skin, but said to hell with it.

"It's not the greatest outfit that I've seen." she stepped out of her small changing cubby. His eyes roved over her, something unreadable in his expression.

"Not bad. I want to see the dress now." he shooed her back inside, causing her to sputter. What had gotten into him? He was too stubborn for his own good. She shucked off the outfit and slipped into the dress and stopped, staring at her reflection. It was all purple sequins, and it was stunning.

She'd thought the tight fit wouldn't flatter her body shape, but it somehow created curves where there weren't any, and while she usually hated the way sleeveless styles made her arms and chest look, she had to admit her modest décolletage looked _amazing_.

"Are you ready yet?" Bucky called in. She rolled her eyes, picturing him tapping a watch on his wrist with a sour look on his handsome features.

"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses." she muttered, unlocking the door and opening it, nervously tucking her hair behind her ears. This time, his perusal of her was much slower, starting from her toes up until he met her eyes. He didn't say anything, but his eyes were darker, less animated. "So? Does it pass your test?" she demanded, uncomfortable with the amount of time it had taken him to answer.

"It's perfect for you." he admitted, looking down at the dress again. She felt her face heat at that, what the hell did he mean by perfect for her?

"Okay then. I hope you didn't plan on seeing the bikini, I'm trying that on in here by myself." she warned, shutting the door again and shimmying the dress off.

"That's fine." his voice was lower, quieter than before. Her eyebrows furrowed at that, but she put on the suit anyways and shrugged at her reflection. Not bad. If she dieted a bit and did some squats, she'd look pretty damn okay in it. Her boobs were a lost cause at that point in her life, though, so she ignored the fact that she didn't have much in the cleavage department. Once she was back in her normal clothes, she met Bucky back outside the dressing room.

"Okay, ready to get some grub?" Don asked, tossing the clothing into the cart again. Bucky nodded at her, and they moved towards the produce section of the store. She picked out some fruit, and Bucky pointed out that there were some plums that he'd like, so she threw those in the cart too. She grabbed milk, eggs, bacon, ground beef, some frozen pizzas, a loaf of bread, and some beans before heading over to the snack section. Bucky was like a kid in a candy store, looking at every brightly colored bag of treats like it was treasure. Of course he'd wanted to try just about everything, so she tossed that all in the cart as well. After picking out some nice sugary cereal and a bulk bag of mini candy bars, she was all set.

"This seems like a lot." he frowned, looking at the full cart. She paused at the liquor section, holding up a finger before hunting down a bottle of tequila. "What's that for?" he asked as she threw the alcohol in the cart.

"Forget my troubles." she shrugged and continued down the rest of the aisles back towards the checkout. "Oh." she stopped, and he almost ran into her with the cart. "Oh Bucky, that's so perfect." he groaned as she ran into the men's clothing section and rummaged around the rack before pulling out a leather jacket. He blinked at her before letting a slow smirk slide across his face.

"You really love dressing me up, doll." he grinned with a slow shake of his head. She saw a woman pause and look at him appreciatively when he gave her that look, and she fought off the urge to growl _mine_ at her like a rabid dog. She threw the sexy jacket into the cart and guided him to the checkout aisle at last. Once they'd finished bagging up their excessive amount of groceries, Bucky pushed the full cart behind her and helped her load everything into the trunk. It was pitch black outside by that time, and she shivered at the chill the air seemed to have taken with the absence of sunlight.

"Put on your new jacket, it's freezing out here." she scolded him, and he pursed his lips before ripping the tag off the zipper and sliding it on over his broad shoulders. Oh. _Oh_ that was nice. She knew the leather was fake, save the animals and whatnot, but there was something so rugged and handsome about how he filled out that jacket. She wanted to feel that jacket on her bare skin, and she shivered at the thought. _Donnie get yourself together_ she scolded herself as he pushed the cart into the return space. The way his body moved and stretched the jacket was almost sinful, and it felt inappropriate to watch him looking like that in public. She wondered what he'd look like shirtless with just that on, open to reveal his chest underneath.

"Are you gonna get in?" Bucky had returned, when he had she had no idea. She took a deep breath and hopped in the drivers side, squeezing the steering wheel before starting the car up. She watched him slide in the passengers side out of the corner of her eye, that sultry leather and those long legs taking far too much of her attention. "Are you okay?" he had turned to look at her, confusion prominent on his face, even in the darkness.

"Yeah, just cold." she shivered again, and he seemed to buy it, turning to face out the front windshield again as she backed out of her space. The drive was silent save for the radio playing softly, and she quickly got back into her parking space on campus. "Think we can make it in one trip?" she asked quietly, unbuckling.

"I'm sure we'll manage." he replied, getting out faster than she would ever be able to. She popped the trunk and he grabbed almost every bag except for one, the chips, and then walked back towards her building as she scrambled to follow. She dangled her measly light bag behind him, his arms not even straining with the effort of the groceries. She swiped her card through, cursing when the damn mag strip didn't register. She swiped two more times violently as Bucky watched her, a look of amusement playing over his face.

"These stupid cards never work." She groaned in relief when the light finally lit up green, unlocking the door for them. Bucky stayed quiet as he followed her towards the elevator. She hummed, tapping her toes to a beat that she couldn't think of the words to, and gave a jaw-cracking yawn. She stepped into the elevator, and Bucky followed close behind.

"Oh, hold the elevator please!" someone called from the front door. Bucky's hand shot out to hit the door close button, and Don quickly jabbed the open button. She shot him a look and he glared at her as the girl stepped into the elevator with them. He shifted closer to Don, arms crossing over the bags. The rickety elevator went up the shaft, and the girl in the elevator with them glanced above them suspiciously. She had short red hair and pale skin, and was absolutely stunning. Once they got to Don's floor, they exited the elevator and the girl did too. She walked past them when they stopped at the door, though, but that didn't stop Bucky from watching her disappearing around the corner.

"You don't have to be rude, you were just gonna close the door on her." Donatella scolded him. He shoved her inside the apartment as soon as she got it opened and he slammed it shut behind them.

"She wasn't a student. I think she works for SHIELD." he growled, tossing the groceries on the counter.

"She had a key card for the building." she mentioned. "How do you know she wasn't a student? She looks familiar to me." she began to put things away.

"This is bad, very bad." Bucky muttered, pacing and ripping off his disguise. "I'm sure it was an agent."

"Okay but how do you know?" she pried again.

"I just do." he snapped, whirling on her. "Can't you trust me on this?"

"Who is SHIELD? I thought you were on the run from HYDRA." she frowned at a bag of Cheetos, stuffing it into the cupboard.

"They're a recently fallen branch of the government." he sighed, stopping. "I've got to get out of here." Bucky muttered, heading for his bag. Her stomach sank.

"You're leaving then?" she tried to hide her panic, but her voice cracked partway through her sentence. He paused, turning to look at her.

"I don't think you should be caught up in this." he said slowly. She fought to keep her reaction neutral, but was slowly failing, and she turned to face the groceries again.

"I guess." she shrugged, dumping out the paper bag filled with fruit. "But aren't I already involved? If that woman really was a secret agent or whatever, then she saw us together."

"Shit." she heard him mutter, and she turned just enough to see him collapse onto one of the kitchen chairs. She hesitated before speaking again.

"Look," she sighed, "my spring break starts in a week, and I have four free skip days left from my clinicals. I take my classes online, so we can leave tomorrow and go hide out somewhere. How does that sound?" she coaxed him. He thought it over, his eyes going distant.

"What if tomorrow is too late?" he murmured, looking up at her. She could see the fear, the worry brewing there, and her breath hitched when he realized that worry was for her.

"It won't be. The government has to go through a shit ton of protocols before they can do anything on a college campus, because there's private law enforcement here that they have to tiptoe around. That's why the HYDRA people who were supposedly law enforcement couldn't enter any buildings, they didn't have any warrants." Don explained, pulling out some ground beef and a pan. "Since we've decided to stay here for tonight, I'm thinking tacos. I'd also like to drown myself in tequila before we go on the run, thanks." she started cooking, and Bucky watched with a sunken expression. She unscrewed the cap of the alcohol, taking a deep swig with a grimace. "Want some?" she offered the bottle. He reached out and pressed the bottle to his plump lips, throat moving almost in slow motion as his eyes became lidded. Don felt a flare of heat rush through her body at the sight, but she laughed at the face he made.

"What the hell is _that_?" he coughed out, wiping his mouth.

"The best and worst alcohol of all time." she took another sip, smiling at the burn. "I used to do body shots all the time at frat parties, they really fucked you up after like five in a row."

"Body shots?" his eyebrows furrowed. She grimaced as she thought of the best way to explain it.

"Its, well, you take a shot of tequila from somebody's belly button, lick salt off their chest, and then you have to use your teeth to take a lime wedge out of their mouth. Saying it out loud sounds quite gross to be honest, but when you've downed half a bottle of vodka anything is fun." his face was pensive for a while.

"I might've liked college." he leaned back in his chair as the beef sizzled in the pan. She gave a sharp bark of laughter at the thought of Bucky doing body shots, and then she thought about doing one off him… and then doing him-_no _Donatella, bad Donatella, that's enough of those thoughts. She knocked back another shot to try and erase the image from her mind, but it pretty much just helped fuel the fire.

"Can you chop up some lettuce and tomatoes? They're in the fridge." she gestured to him, and he nodded before quickly getting up. He had to lean around her to get the knife from the block, and he placed a warm hand on her hip to steady himself, his chest brushing her back. The tequila flared through her veins at this, and she had to hold her breath to keep calm. He moved a short distance away and began his task, but her body was thrumming with awareness of how close he was to her. He was calmly slicing the tomato, his metal hand holding the flesh gently. When he finished, he held the metal up to his mouth to suck some of the juice off.

Jesus Christ was he trying to kill her? He finely chopped up his slices and slid them into a small bowl, moving on to swiftly shred the lettuce. His shoulders rocked with precise movement and effort as he leaned over the counter, and she forced herself to focus on the pan in front of her. She glared down at the meat, stabbing her spatula through it to make sure the beef would be cooked completely.

"Are the shells in the cupboard above the refrigerator?" he asked her once he had finished what she'd asked.

"Yeah, this is almost done so we can get out some sauce and cheese and sour cream." she nodded to him, and he pulled out the condiments before reaching up to the cabinet. She almost screamed, wishing she could put her face into the hot pan to stop herself from looking. His shirt rode up, revealing a strip of that smooth muscle, his jeans pulling taut against his thighs and ass. The view was gone as quickly as it had appeared, and he turned to set the box of shells on the table. He arranged everything before sitting again, and Don grabbed a hot pad, tossing it onto the table and setting down the sizzling pan. Then she pulled out two glasses from the cupboard, setting them down in order to glug hefty amounts of tequila into them. Bucky made a face, but sipped it without complaints.

They ate quietly, but the inside of Don's head was roaring. Halfway through their meal, Bucky had a small piece of sour cream on his lip, and she wanted to vault across the table and wipe it off. With her tongue. God, was she some kind of animal? Her reactions were getting ridiculous at this point. She chugged the rest of her glass, pouring herself another large portion. His silky soft hair kept falling into his gorgeous eyes, and he'd push it back with that gorgeous tan hand, his long fingers running through the strands and ruffling them. She had just about given up on life at that point when he paused, giving her a suspicious glance.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" he murmured, eyes flickering to her shaking hands as she gulped.

"L-like what?" she squeaked, gripping her glass tightly to stop her tremors. "I'm just t-thinking." she defended herself when he didn't reply.

"About?" he coaxed, those lips pursing in thought.

"I h-have to call the housekeeper t-to warn them that we're g-going to be staying there for a few d-days." she was grateful she could think on her toes. She'd assumed that they could escape to her house in Cove Neck. It was secure, and had been sitting empty while she'd been at school.

"Where is home for you?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

"It's near here, but I live in a gated community." her stuttering had stopped thank god, but her thighs squeezed together at the sight of his arms when he crossed them tightly. "So it's private… and they won't be able to just… you know… follow us." she finished lamely.

"We can't stay there long." he mentioned.

"Where else do we go?" she frowned, taking another sip of her drink.

"Bucharest."

**I really love this story so much. I'm glad you guys seem to enjoy it as well, we're nearing the halfway point for this story. Thank you all for your kind words so far, it means so much to me, I've been writing this for a while :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: bad guy**

Donatella had the worst dream of her life. It was pure torture, all bronzed skin and smooth muscle moving above her, glinting, teasing blue eyes peeking out behind that dark fringe. She pleaded for more, felt that torturous heat between her thighs, the cool metal burning her heated flesh… she woke up feeling properly screwed, and not in a good way.

After a failed attempt to work out her frustration in an icy cold shower, she braided her hair back before getting her packing done. She took a backpack and filled it with sensible clothing and toiletries, throwing a handful of bras, underwear, and socks into the black jansport. Jeans, leggings, sweaters, and t-shirts took up the bulk of things, and with a small amount of room leftover she managed to squeeze in her makeup bag. Impressed with her own packing skills, she left her room in a rush, neglecting to realize just who she'd be meeting in her living room.

Bucky lounged on the couch, the perfect picture of casual in his black baseball cap and dark hoodie, his new jacket draped over one of his arms. His lips lifted in a lazy smile when she appeared, and he took his time stretching before sitting up.

"I have a bag packed with food so hopefully we won't have to stop on the way. How long did you say it'd take to get there?" he asked, getting on his feet and shrugging his jacket on. She zipped up her parka before replying.

"Two hours max, depends on the traffic. I already called Janita, she has our rooms ready and she prepped dinner for the next few nights. We won't have to leave while we're there, and I gave her the next few days off while we'll be there." she explained as he strode towards the door. He picked up his backpack and an extra duffel bag, waiting for her to slip her boots on before opening the door. He led the way to the elevator this time, jabbing the button forcefully. His metal fingers… she shuddered, forcing the images from her dream back into the deep recesses of her mind.

They walked in silence to the car, a few fat flakes of snow drifting down around them. Donatella popped the trunk and she and Bucky flung their things inside. She slid behind the wheel as he shut the trunk and he took his place in the passenger side seat. She fiddled with the radio, finding a station she liked before pulling out of the lot and onto the busy streets of New York. After around twenty minutes of being on the road, Bucky gently moved his hand towards the radio and switched the station. She watched him do it a few more times before he huffed in frustration.

"What are you looking for?" She asked cautiously and he twisted the knob furiously.

"Anything good." He muttered, settling on college rock for a few minutes before twisting the knob again.

"What kind of music do you like?" She asked.

"I don't know." Was his reply. She pursed her lips, swatting his hand away before trying a station she liked. He switched it again, and she tried another. This one he left on.

"So you're a fan of Sinatra?" She asked. He shrugged.

"It sounds nice." He replied. They were quiet again after that, save for Bucky fiddling with the volume every few minutes. He'd turn up a song he liked, and lowered it every time there was something he wasn't too keen on. She tried to point out a few landmarks to him, but he didn't seem very interested. Eventually he closed his eyes, leaning over the center console on his elbow. His breathing evened as his head slumped onto the seat behind him, and she smiled softly to herself.

How cute, taking a little catnap. She switched the radio to something a bit more upbeat to keep herself awake, but turned the volume down to try and help him rest. After an hour on the road, she reached into the food bag behind her and grabbed a granola bar, eating to help cure her boredom. Bucky slept soundly, and she debated waking him as they got closer to her house. She decided against it, and when she finally approached the gates she grinned and waved at the familiar gatekeeper. He recognized her car and plates and let her through without stopping her, and she rolled up to her family home, stopping outside the security fence and pressing the passcode that would allow them entry. She drove in as the gate ratcheted open, and Bucky's eyes snapped open at the sound.

"Where are we?" he mumbled, rubbing the sleep from those baby blues as he peered at the road ahead of them.

"We're coming up the driveway." she replied quietly, and his brows came down into a furrow again. She could see why he'd be confused, since you couldn't exactly see the full house from the road they were currently on. Trees blocked some of the home, and you couldn't see it until you made it to the garage. But it was huge. She wondered what Bucky thought of it. It was practically a mansion, her parents had been loaded before they even became famous scientists, their very old money causing them to buy an outrageously expensive house in New York.

"This…" Bucky leaned forward, an annoyed look on his face. "This is your house." he peered up at the stone building.

"Mi casa es su casa." she joked, pulling up to the garage and parking inside. "My parents weren't understated about anything." she explained, hopping out of the car and moaning in relief as the feeling returned to her legs in the warm air. Bucky was already at the trunk with the bags by the time she finished kicking her legs out, stretching out the soreness. "Here, we can go in through the garage door." she led him towards a rich wooden door frame with a gold handle and yanked it open, smiling at the warm air that hit her. "Sorry, this section of the house is really warm from the sauna."

"Sauna?" he echoed, following her motions as she toed her shoes off in the marble mudroom. She motioned towards a wood paneled doorway with a shrug.

"It's really nice to sit in there. Good for your skin and for detoxing after a long night of drinking." she shrugged and moved towards the main hall. "Okay, these areas over here are off limits. Only Janita goes in there to clean and freshen things up." she pointed to a darkened hallway.

"What's down there?" Bucky asked, glancing down the hall. Don paused, her lips turning down at the corners.

"They're my parent's offices, and my old playroom." she revealed flatly. "I don't have a use for them so I don't go to that section of the house." Bucky winced as she continued on her impromptu tour. "Here's the kitchen, everything is kinda crazy high-tech in there so be careful, oh and watch out for the magnet on the electric can opener, I don't know if it would stick to you or not." she gestured to the stainless steel appliance in the corner.

"Why do you need that?" he raised his eyebrows. She shrugged before leading him through a swinging doorway.

"Dining room, I don't usually eat in here though." she waved at the pristine mahogany table, with high-backed regal looking chairs surrounding it. A large crystal chandelier dangled above it and she grimaced. "I hate that stupid thing, but Janita won't get it taken down. She thinks it's pretty." Don motioned for Bucky to follow her through another doorway. "This is the cigar-room, my dad used it a lot but now it just stinks like old smoke so I don't usually come in here unless I'm using the bar." she pointed to a full wall of liquor, with a soda-gun, tumblers, snifters, shot glasses, everything.

"That seems a bit excessive." Bucky mentioned as she moved back into the dining room and out the other side.

"My family was excessive. This is the main entryway, another gaudy chandelier of course." she stopped in the middle of the room, pristine white with dark wood accents and a spiraling staircase leading up to the second floor. "The library is on that side, we can go in there later. Oh, and the main living room is over there too." she pointed to each respective door. "Living area is upstairs." she motioned for him to follow her, and showed her to the bedroom she'd picked for him, and then told him where her room was. "You have a bathroom in your room, but there's another living room up here with a TV and stuff. It's at the end of this hall, the other side has the storage room." she pointed out. He nodded to her, mumbling a quick thanks before she disappeared to go to her own room.

Donatella sighed as she entered her bedroom. It was plain, white, with small accents of color, but it didn't feel homely. Nothing here felt like home. She jolted as she realized that her cramped dorm with Bucky felt more comfortable than the place she grew up in. When had that happened? When had she become so dependent on his presence? It wasn't right. She shouldn't feel like this, he was a criminal on the run and she was a college student for Christ's sake. Shaking her head, she reached out to turn on her gas fireplace, slumping into her extremely outdated chaise and flipping on the television. She glanced at her balcony doors, shivering at the snow-covered landscape. What a nice, warm spring break.

She passed out pretty quickly, and of course the dreams started again. Bucky's warm hand trailing up her thigh, the cold metal one mimicking the action on the other side. His scorching hot lips and tongue over her flesh, his rough stubble scratching her, his hard muscles rippling under his skin… she jolted awake with a gasp, thighs squeezed together and heart pounding a mile a minute. She screamed out a frustrated groan and marched over to her balcony, stepping out into the snow to cool down. She let out a string of curses in Italian, falling back into her first language easily.

"What's wrong?" she heard off to the side and screamed, whirling to see Bucky standing on his own balcony just next door. Heat flared through her body again at the sight of him, and she groaned, leaning onto the icy railing.

"Nothing's wrong." she muttered, and he sighed. She heard a soft thump and screamed when he touched her shoulder, not realizing he'd somehow vaulted the distance between the balconies.

"Sorry." he muttered, and she relaxed quickly.

"How the hell did you get over here so fast?" she asked, and he raised an eyebrow. "Right, super soldier." she muttered, turning back to look out at the snowscape.

"Tell me what's going on." his voice softened again, placing his hand over hers on the ice covered railing. She looked down at the ground before turning to look at him.

"What am I doing?" she blurted out. "I brought you here to help keep you safe, but I don't even know what's going on. I'm an accomplice now, I've been harboring a criminal, and now I brought you here. I hate it here, I haven't been here in almost seven months. So why the hell do I feel responsible for what happens to you? Why am I protecting you?" she searched his eyes for an answer, but he seemed just as confused as she was. "I could call the cops at any moment and they'd come and take you away from me. Why can't I do that? Why won't I?" his hand slid off of hers as his mouth opened to answer, but nothing came out. He shook his head and took a step back.

"We're friends." he whispered, his mask slipping from his face to reveal raw emotion. "I… friends want to protect each other." she pressed her lips together tightly, shivering in the cold air. He gave a concerned look at her bare arms and tried to herd her towards the door, but she stopped him.

"You had no one when I found you. I don't really have anyone either." she placed her hand on his covered metal arm, the cold seeping into her fingers from under the fabric. "I think now… we need each other. I can't let you do this alone."

"So, what, are you just going to let me live on your couch forever?" he demanded, shaking his head. "What comes next? You can't throw away your life for this." his voice shook with the effort of keeping his words calm.

"I won't leave anything behind. But I'm not going to leave you behind either." she frowned. "I can't abandon you with nothing. If I can put you up for a few months, or even bail you out-"

"Bail me out? You can't bail out a murderer, Donatella." he growled. "It's either I go off the grid, or I go to jail."

"You deserve a second chance!" she shouted, rubbing the goosebumps on her arms. "I read all about SHIELD that first night. I read all about _you_. They have the information, hell, one of their own had a past just as bad as yours, and she works for them now, nobody can even touch her. You didn't have a choice, Buck, that wasn't _you_." she snarled, whirling around.

"You've known me less than a week. How the hell do you know who I am?" his voice had turned cold, and her blood turned to ice. He had never spoken to her with that inflection. He was so hot and cold, hadn't he just said they were friends?

"You're right. I don't know who you are." she felt the fight drain out of her as tears pricked her eyes. "If you want to go, then just get out-" she was cut off as he threw his metal arm around her waist, yanking her off her feet and behind the wall of the balcony. The solid stone prevented her from seeing below them.

"Someone's coming up the driveway." he breathed quietly in her ear. "I don't know if they saw us."

"What kind of car was it?" she whispered, fear clutching her heart in a vice-like grip.

"It was a blue van. There was one person in it, but I didn't see anything else." his fingers tightened around her waist.

"It's Janita." she sighed in relief, prying herself from his arms and peering over the edge of the wall. The old woman had climbed out of her car and was pulling something from the backseat. "I'll go see why she's here, I asked her not to come." she left him, sitting on the ground. She made her way through her delectably warm room, but her heart still felt cold. Her slippers muffled her footsteps as she made her way down the stairs, meeting Janita at the front door.

"Oh, my Donnie!" she cooed in italian. "I have missed you, you have not come home in so long!"

"Janita, what are you doing here?" Donatella greeted warmly, coming forward to meet her embrace. The old italian woman pinched her cheek, muttering something about being too skinny before waltzing into the kitchen.

"I brought you a surprise, your favorite!" her housekeeper brandishing a bakery box. "Zeppole!" all of the breath whooshed from her lungs as she eyed the treats. Of course she'd remember. "You were not here for your birthday, so I brought your gift here now. Come, sit, where is your houseguest?" Donatella turned as she ushered her onto a stool. She saw a shadow pass the doorway and figured Bucky was going to be watching the whole exchange from a distance. She wasn't sure if he understood them, since they weren't speaking English, but she figured he didn't need to know everything.

"Oh, probably sleeping." she replied meekly as Janita plated a zeppole for her. She smiled, still warm. Donatella took a large bite of the pastry, nearly moaning at how good it was. She hadn't had her favorite dessert in ages, and she really wished she could have it more.

"Here, your gift, little mouse." she gave her a box, addressing her endearingly. The woman was like a mother to Don, having raised her since she was a baby. She pulled the box over to herself, wrapped in pink paper with a shiny gold bow on top. "Your favorite color." she grinned, pointing to the paper.

"You remembered." she felt her eyes fill again as she fingered the seam.

"Open it!" Janita scolded, and Donatella's spine straightened as she peeled open her gift. Lifting the top off the box, she frowned at the obvious jewelry box. It was obviously from Tiffany's, and she looked up, alarmed.

"Janita, how did you…?" she grasped the lid, scared to open it. This would have been expensive. "You don't need to spend so much of your salary on me, this is too much." she shook her head.

"Little mouse, I wanted to. It is an important year for you, and I want you to have a good gift this year. Think of it from me and your parents." she patted her hand with her own wrinkled one. Janita's hand was bare, as it had been for the past few years. Her grandson had asked to use her wedding ring to propose to his girlfriend, and Janita had been happy to hand off her ring. Donatella smiled as she recalled the day that Janita had told her of her grandson's engagement. She pursed her lips in excitement, preparing to open the box. When she slipped it open, her breath caught.

"Oh, my god." she gasped. "Janita, it's just like-"

"Your mother's." she smiled sadly. When Donatella was younger, she'd play in her mother's jewelry box, pretending she was a princess. Her necklace of choice was a pink sapphire in the shape of a heart. "Small, yet beautiful, just like my little mouse." Janita pinched her cheek. Her mother would always scold her for touching things without asking, but Janita oohed and awwed every time Donatella dressed up.

"You used to say that to me. Every time I wore it." Donatella choked out, admiring the gem in the light.

"It's true, my little mouse." she grinned, patting her hand again. "You are my only daughter, you know this." Janita had one son who left the house before she'd even started working for Donatella's family. Even though she was only meant to be a housekeeper, she'd doubled as a nanny, and then mother after her parents disappeared. She became her legal guardian in order to keep her from going into the foster care system, and ever since then she was her mother.

"Thank you so much." she smiled as she clasped the white-gold chain around her neck. "It's beautiful." the original necklace had gone missing with her parents, as well as some of their research and a few other things. Having such a nostalgic piece was wonderful.

"I know you've got a lot to study for, so I'll be on my way. I have to go home and babysit tonight, my grandson is letting me have my great-grandbaby for the night." Janita smiled, standing from her stool.

"Have a good night, Janita." she called out as she left. She waited until she heard the car outside start and drive off before searching out Bucky, planning on making something to eat. "Bucky, are you hungry?" she called out, leaving the kitchen to check on his location. She frowned, he wasn't on the main level. "Buck?" she called up the staircase.

Oh no.

She'd told him to leave, and he had. He was gone. She felt herself begin to panic. She rushed to his room, not seeing him. She checked her bedroom.

Nothing.

She called out for him again, but there was nothing. As she flew down the staircase she froze, glancing at the hallway that she'd dubbed off limits.

A light was on. It taunted her, eerie in the quiet house. She slowly crept down the hallway, her heart leaping into her throat. The light was in her dad's office. Memories crept up on her, darkening her thoughts, and she pushed them back. Why the hell had he gone in there? Was he trying to torture her? It didn't make sense.

"Bucky?" she whispered hoarsely, slowly pushing the door open to peek inside the office. He was standing in front of their family portrait that hung over the desk, absolutely still. His shoulders weren't even moving. "What the hell are you doing?" her voice gained volume, angry that he'd been snooping around her parents things, the ones who had abandoned her. In the blink of an eye she was pressed against the wall, pinned by his arms much in the same way they shoved her the first night they'd met.

"Who the hell are you?" he snarled, shoving her hard.

"W-what are you doing?" she sputtered, trying to shove back against him.

"You're HYDRA, aren't you?" he sneered, his body crushing against hers.

"I'm Donatella, what the fuck are you on, glue?!" she shrieked, pushing even harder to attempt to get him off of her.

"Are those your parents?" he shouted, pointing to the portrait. Her mom and dad stood stoically on either side of her, and she was smiling in between in a pretty pink dress. She was six when it had been done.

"Yes!" she cried out when he twisted her arm. He loosened his grip so he was no longer hurting her. "Why do you care about my parents?!"

"They worked on me." he snarled, rage glinting in those blue eyes. She felt her breath whoosh out all at once.

"What?" she was confused. Her parents had worked on him? They were…

Doctors. Scientists. Experts in bioengineering and advanced prosthetics. Who worked for a German company with ties to the government.

"Shit. Shit, Bucky, holy shit." she felt herself begin to panic.

"What?" he leaned off of her a bit, confusion flashing across his face.

"They-they were… they were…" she looked at his arm, where she knew there was scar tissue covering where the flesh met metal. "Monsters." she whispered. He completely let go of her, and she slumped to the ground, rocking back and forth as she clutched at her chest, trying to breathe.

"You didn't know?" he demanded, crouching down next to her. She felt sick. She felt like she could throw up all over his shoes.

"Bucky, I swear I didn't…" she gasped, trying to get enough air. She couldn't fucking _breathe_. "They worked for HYDRA. They said they worked for a German engineering company, it had to be HYDRA." she laughed hysterically, and his eyes widened.

"Donatella, calm down." he demanded. But she couldn't. She just found out her parents were monsters who helped to brainwash and control an innocent man. A sob ripped out of her throat.

"Why? Why did they do that to you?" she asked tearfully.

"It's okay. It's okay." he hushed her, wrapping her in the same arms he used to threaten her just moments before. But at this moment she relaxed, comforted in his hold. It took a few minutes, but she finally caught her breath again.

"Holy shit." she felt like she'd been hit by a train, her body laying against him bonelessly. "My parents were fucking Nazis, Bucky."

**Happy update day you guys! Thanks so much for all of the support you've given me on this story, it really means a lot to me. I know this chapter doesn't end very happily, but this is important to the plot of the story (the entire trilogy, yes I spoiled that there are three separate parts to this story) thank you all on following me through this journey so far! Make sure you follow this story so you don't miss an update, and if you're feeling frisky, favorite and follow my page so you get notified of when my other stories go up! (after this one, of course)**

**As always, the next update will be in three days, so I'll see you all then!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Santeria**

It had taken her a while, but she'd managed to throw their lasagna in the oven and feed them before she collapsed into bed. She bristled. The bed she bought with _nazi_ money. Okay, Bucky had explained that HYDRA wasn't actually a nazi organization, even though many of the members identified that way apparently. He had taken the news a lot better than she had, but she felt awful. Sick. What exactly had her parents done to him? Why did it have to be her parents? Where the fuck had they gone? On the run, being nazis without their kid apparently. She was fine with that. They could go fuck themselves. If she never saw them again it'd be too soon.

She felt sick. Her parents were HYDRA. She was HYDRA by proxy. What the hell was going on? She thought harboring a criminal was her biggest worry. Apparently the fuck not. She felt another hysterical laugh bubble up from her throat and sat up, breathing heavily. She didn't know what to do. What should she do? What the fuck was she supposed to do with that information? Donatella was freaking out. She flipped on her TV, opening Netflix and searching for a movie to calm her down.

Ah, yes. Hercules might help. He was big and strong and always made it through, even when he found out his dad was a literal god. She made it through half of it, turning it way up when she finally got relaxed. She was singing along when there was a knock on the door.

Oops. Bucky had probably been asleep. The clock said two in the morning, and she sheepishly went to answer. He stood there, bleary eyed and confused.

"Why are you singing?" he yawned, stepping in and glancing at the paused movie.

"Because Megara not saying she's in love is a bop." she replied. He moved to her bed, picking the remote up and turning it back down before playing the movie again. He stood there, the colors from the animation lighting up his face in the darkness. She walked back over to him, climbing into bed as the song finished. "Sorry for waking you up." she frowned, and he looked down at her.

"I wasn't asleep." he watched her pull the blankets up to her chin.

"Why not? It's late." she yawned, settling back down and swinging her gaze lazily back to the tv.

"I was worried about you." he frowned as her eyes snapped back to his face. Those damn puppy dog eyes. He sat down on the edge of the bed, leaning back onto his flesh arm.

"I'm fine. Sort of." she waved off his concern. "It's just a lot to take in, you know? I don't even like my parents, but…" she shuddered. "I hugged them. I made them crappy cards and shit. I wanted them to love me." His hand patted her leg through the blanket comfortingly.

"I'm sorry. If I'd never have gone in there, you wouldn't even know…" he trailed off.

"Don't blame yourself. I'm glad I know now. It makes it easier." she shrugged. He sighed, turning back towards the movie. She watched his profile, that strong jaw, pouty lips, sloping nose, surprisingly hot forehead… how the hell did he get blessed with genes like that? It was unfair. He sighed, scooting back until he was resting against the headboard next to her.

"It's really warm in here." he mentioned, and she yawned, a drowsy feeling coming over her.

"I know. It helps me sleep when it's warm." she replied. He hummed and settled into his spot. She turned to watch the movie again, her eyes drooping every few minutes. She tried to shake herself awake, but eventually she just stopped fighting it.

"Goodnight, Donatella." she heard Bucky whisper before she finally succumbed.

….

She preferred the inappropriate dreams to whatever fresh hell this was.

Bucky was sweet as sugar, making breakfast with a handsome grin on his face. His hair was pushed back, revealing his chiseled features. His stubble was trimmed down enough to reveal the cleft in his chin, and as he set her plate down in front of her he smiled before giving her a bone-achingly sweet kiss. She couldn't help her smile, and she couldn't help but grab his face with both her hands, pulling him down for one more as her stomach filled with butterflies. A giggle bubbled from her lips and she patted his cheek as he walked back to the stove.

"Donatella?" she heard him say.

"More bacon please." she replied.

"I don't have bacon." she jolted awake at his words, realizing that dream Bucky wasn't the one talking to her and real Bucky was still in her room. She peered around, bleary eyed and wiping the drool off her face. Bucky was sitting up next to her, and morning light streamed in through the windows, and she realized she slept through the night.

"No bacon?" she echoed, scrubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Uh, no?" he yawned, standing up and stretching his arms above his head. That tantalizing strip of skin flashed again before he put his arms down. "Did you know you snore? Like a lot." he mentioned, a teasing grin on his face.

"Yes, I know, I got my tonsils removed and the doctors don't know how to make it stop." she mumbled, rolling over and pressing her pillow over her head. "My freshman year roommate never let it go. I had to switch to a single room." she called through the pillow. Bucky snatched it off her head, and she rolled over with a pout, crossing her arms over the front of her giant t-shirt.

"If you get up we can have bacon. I'm hungry." he was still holding the pillow.

"I'll get up and come down after you make it." she closed her eyes. She felt him smack her in the face with the pillow, and she sat up sputtering, pushing her mussed up hair out of her eyes. "You dick!" she grabbed her other pillow and brandished it with both hands, rising up onto her knees to threaten him.

"Now that you're up, doll, breakfast?" he drawled, a lazy smirk playing over his lips. Those blue eyes held mirth and his face was open, relaxed.

She preferred real Bucky to dream Bucky in moments like these.

After she thoroughly smacked him with the pillow she followed him down the stairs, tugging her shorts down from where they'd ridden up during their morning shakedown. How the hell an assassin let her get away with that she didn't know, but she wouldn't question it.

"We also have zeppole. Janita brought them over when she gave me my birthday gift." she mentioned and he seemed to walk faster at the thought of dessert for breakfast. She giggled quietly to herself when they entered the kitchen, and the two quickly got to work.

"There's orange juice." Bucky announced, pulling out the carton and shaking it. She appreciated the way his body moved when he did it, and she pulled out some glasses for them.

"Wish we had champagne." she sighed, shaking her head. He gave her an amused smirk, pulling out a bottle without even looking, and she nearly screamed.

"We're having a proper brunch!" she squealed, pulling out the ingredients for pancakes with chocolate chips, eggs, bacon, and cinnamon toast. She split up their tasks evenly and sipped her mimosa with glee, stomach growling in anticipation.

"This is a lot, you know." Bucky looked over at all of the food they were preparing. She shot him a scowl.

"I'm saying to hell with my diet." she shrugged. He gave her a sideways glance as he cracked some eggs to whisk up.

"What diet?" he asked, ducking when she threw her spatula at him. He gave her a wicked grin, holding up an egg.

"If you throw that at me I swear to go-" the egg cracked against her shirt, cold seeping through to touch her stomach. She took a deep breath, letting it out as she stuck her hand in the flour bin, throwing a handful into his face. It mostly puffed harmlessly around him, not really coating him like she really wanted it to, but the damage was done.

"You started it!" he smirked, slapping her wrist with a strip of raw bacon.

"That was the most disgusting thing I've ever felt!" she screeched, furiously running her hand under the hot water faucet.

"Your pancakes are going to burn if you don't hurry up." he called, starting to scramble the eggs once he'd put the bacon in the oven.

"You're a demon, Bucky Barnes." she gasped, rushing to flip her pancakes on the griddle. They were perfect, and she stuck her tongue out at his back while she popped some bread into the toaster. She plated up stack after stack, setting them on the table and buttering the triangles of toast and sprinkling them with cinnamon and sugar. They managed to get everything else on the kitchen island without another food fight, and she decided she'd shower after breakfast and get the gross raw food off of her.

"So what did Janita get you for your birthday?" Bucky asked, uncharacteristically conversational. She smiled widely, setting her fork down to pull the delicate chain from inside her t-shirt.

"It's beautiful, I used to steal one just like it from my… mom." she finished lamely. She took a large bite of eggs, forcing herself to swallow them quickly.

"It is very pretty." he nodded, not mentioning the elephant in the room, and she was grateful. She knew he had it much worse than her, but she had been blindsided, and it would be hard to get over it. She poured herself another mimosa, sighing at the taste of champagne on her tongue.

"Here, ready for some mind-blowingly good zeppole?" she grabbed the pastry box, pushing it towards him. He nodded, grabbing one and taking a bite, eyes widening.

"I've never had them with custard inside." he revealed, and she grinned.

"Oh, I always loved the custard ones. I refuse to have them any other way." he nodded in agreement with her. She smirked as he polished off two more of the treats before finishing his breakfast, scraping the last of his eggs off his plate neatly. "I still don't understand how you can eat so much." She admitted, finishing her much smaller portion of breakfast.

"Fast metabolism. Need lots of energy." He shrugged. She pursed her lips.

"Do you, like, have to work out, or do you just look like that naturally?" Don gestured to his rippling muscles.

"Uh, both I think. Working out helps to keep everything feeling right, but I haven't really had time to since… you know…" he explained.

"You can use the gym here. It's nothing state of the art, my parents didn't do fitness, but there's like weights and stuff. I usually just do the elliptical and swim laps." She mentioned, gulping the rest of her drink.

"There's a pool?" He jolted to attention, then forced himself to relax with a sheepish look on his face.

"Yeah, it's not huge but it's nice. There's also a hot tub and a minibar. I'm a huge fan of that area." She grinned. "Help me clean up and I'll show you, it's in the annex." He jumped up, quickly loading the dishwasher and putting everything away. "Here's the door, and then you have to go through this creepy hallway and then there's the pool door and the gym door. The gym is upstairs, but you can get to the pool from the gym if that makes sense? And then another door from the pool room brings you to another hallway that leads to the sauna I showed you yesterday." She pointed everything out to him, and he nodded, clearly excited at the prospect of getting to swim. He deflated after a moment.

"I don't have trunks." She chuckled, motioning to a closet.

"I have spares. You wouldn't believe the amount of times people don't bring a pair. It's like normal people don't have pools at their houses." She said sarcastically, walking back to the main area of the house to change. "When you're done please rinse off, I'll be upstairs in the gym." Donatella called to him from the end of the hall. He didn't reply, but she assumed he had heard. After she changed into a pair of leggings and a tank top with a sports bra underneath, she attempted to tie her hair back tightly so it wouldn't fall out. It took her a while, but the braid she did held up alright. She jammed her feet into a pair of sneakers before heading back to the annex.

Don went up the stairs and got onto the one elliptical near the glass panes that overlooked the pool. She could see Bucky doing his laps as she started up her timer. She let her mind wander to the past few days. If she hadn't decided to finish her internship analysis on that night, she never would have met him. How crazy was that? She was glad she had. There was just something about him that was comforting to her. It was nice to be around somebody, to be able to think about more than just herself. Sure, at school she had Karina, and Janita, but they had their own lives and families that she just couldn't relate to. She didn't fit in all the way with them, it was like she was a puzzle piece with the right pattern but she was just a little bit too small to fit snugly. There was something missing from her, something inherently gone that would always seem to set her apart from others. What was it? Compassion? Love? She couldn't quite place it.

She took in a gasping breath as her forty minute timer went off, and she stumbled off the machine with burning legs. Her body felt like jelly, had she really zoned out for so long? She took a deep swig from her water bottle and lifted the hem of her tank top to wipe the sweat off of her face. Damn, she needed to work out more, jogging once a week clearly was not cutting it. She needed a good relaxing dip in the hot tub, and she wandered to the bathroom to pull one of her swimsuits from the cupboard.

She changed quickly, making sure to wash her face to get off any sweat residue, then headed down the stairs to hop into the jacuzzi. Bucky was nowhere in sight, but the jets were already running, so she assumed he had been there recently. She slid into the frothy water, with a contented sigh, the jets working on her already sore muscles like a dream. She stretched her legs out and screeched when she touched something that felt unmistakably like a human limb. She kicked out and Bucky came bursting through the surface.

"What the fuck were you doing?!" she screamed, her heart going a mile a minute. He sputtered, pushing his soaking wet hair out of his face.

"I was sitting underwater?" he replied, eyes red from the chlorine. "When did you get here?"

"Two seconds ago!" she shouted, finally beginning to calm down. "Why were you underwater?" she groaned, sinking back down until her shoulders were submerged.

"I wanted to see how long I could hold my breath." he shrugged, and she blinked.

"Who goes underwater in a hot tub?" she muttered. He settled back onto the bench across from her, leaning his arms on the lip behind him. One tanned, the other that cool silver. His arms flexed and she swore he was doing it on purpose just to tease her. "Do you wax your chest?" she blurted out. He blinked, brows furrowing.

"No…?" he looked down at himself, seemingly just now noticing he was pretty much hairless in that area. "I've always been like this."

"Hm. Fascinating." she commented, closing her eyes and tilting her head back onto the lip of the jacuzzi. They were quiet then, and she basked in the comfort of just being in his presence. When she cracked an eyelid open to peek at him, she noticed his eyes were closed too, and she took the opportunity to study him. His skin was turning slightly pink from the heat, and his face looked truly relaxed. His lips parted in a silent sigh, and he sunk down further. Her gaze followed a droplet of water that streamed from the side of his face, following the sharp line of his jaw before dropping down onto his chest, trailing down until it disappeared into the water.

She shifted, adjusting her sore legs and stretching her arms above the water. Bucky's eyes slitted open, trailing over her figure before closing again quickly. She pursed her lips, leaning back again and slapping at the control panel on the side of the jacuzzi. A tv slid out from behind the wall and turned on, and Bucky glanced over to it.

"Whaddya say we watch a nice rom com?" she grinned, pressing a few more buttons to bring up the movie she had in mind.

""Miss Congeniality"?" he asked as she clicked on it.

"Trust me, you'll love it. Lots of hot women in bikinis and fancy dresses." she commented as the movie began to play. "I would literally die for Sandra Bullock. I think I've had a crush on her forever." she mentioned at the opening credits.

"Um, I don't mean to…" Bucky began hesitantly. He glanced at her, then turned back to the tv. "Nevermind."

"What is it?" she leaned forward, curious about what he meant to ask.

"I know things are different now, in a good way." he scratched at his chin awkwardly. "And I've heard you make comments before, about… girls." he paused. "Are you…?"

"I'm bisexual." she put him out of his misery. He nodded, clearly relieved that she understood what he had been trying to ask. He relaxed again, and she laughed a little bit. "I'm not, well, I've never had a serious girlfriend, but then again I've only had two boyfriends in my life." she shrugged. "I don't really announce my sexuality anyways, though. I feel like that might be a bit weird, don't you think?" she frowned.

"I guess… I don't know. Back in my time, we didn't really talk about that stuff. I never got it, you know, why people were uncomfortable. Why can't people just love who they love?" he asked. She felt a smile spread across her lips.

"Wow Buck, you were really ahead of your time." she laughed, nudging him with her foot. He pressed his lips together in an awkward smile before turning to focus on the movie again. "Okay, wait for the dramatic reveal when she gets all dolled up, it's my favorite part of the movie." she sat up onto her knees in anticipation, and he leaned on his flesh arm to watch.

"Oh, wow, she looks great." his eyebrows went up.

"I _know_, right?" she gushed, nearly jumping. "I've always wanted to have a movie makeover like that, where I go from dumpy to gorgeous." she explained, leaning onto her palm.

"You already look pretty." he turned to her, frowning as he studied her face. She felt her ears heat up.

"You don't have to flatter me just because I'm helping you out." she laughed, rolling her eyes. His expression tightened.

"What are you talking about. You are pretty." he repeated. "Do you not think you're pretty?"

"So you agree, you think you're really pretty?" she mumbled to herself quickly, causing him to cock his head in confusion. "Uh, Bucky I appreciate the compliment, but I'm no Sandy." she gestured at the screen, where she was proudly displayed with her gorgeous cheekbones and crazy hourglass figure.

"What makes her any better than you? You look really similar, now that I think about it." he scrutinized her, and she squirmed under his gaze.

"Do not." she whined. He gave her his look and went back to watching the movie.

"You're so unnecessarily difficult sometimes." he commented without facing her. Her mouth dropped open.

"That was unnecessarily rude!" she scoffed. He glanced over at her, that look still on his face, but he didn't reply this time. The movie continued to play, but she didn't really pay attention, her mind wandering once again. She was sitting in a hot tub with a brainwashed soldier… how had her life come to this again? How had she managed to befriend him? He was not friendly, he was nice enough she guessed… but like, what the actual fuck? He just let her do whatever she wanted with him. Well, not _whatever_ she wanted, there would be a lot less clothes on if that were the case… but that was irrelevant.

It was like he was a lost little puppy that she didn't have the heart to bring to a shelter. Should she bring him to a vet? Make sure he has all his shots? She smiled to herself at her mental joke, glad he didn't turn to look at her. He probably would have thought she was crazy. Well, he must already think she was crazy. She was insane, bringing this dude into her house. But, like he'd said, they were friends now. She couldn't imagine not hanging out with him and his cute ass, honestly. And, yes, she was physically attracted to him, but that somehow didn't really play a factor in their relationship. She could keep that part to herself easily. After all, she did have great practice of hiding her feelings from the people she was in love wi-

Shit.

In love with? Why did she think that? There was no way she had _fallen_ for the soldier. She shot him a panicked glance, but thankfully he hadn't noticed her internal dilemma. He was rude, crass, surprisingly sweet sometimes, super hot, annoying…

Oh _god_. She was in love, just like Meg with wonder boy. Shit, shit, _shit_. Of course she'd fall for a fucking criminal on the lam. She had the literal worst judgement of anyone she'd ever known. Did she seriously think anything could come from having these feelings for him? Of course not! Their relationship had to strictly be short term, they had to figure out how to fix the mess he was in, get him in contact with the right people… but who exactly were the right people? This was a unique situation, it wasn't like this was high school and he was a naughty boy that was going to get shipped off to boarding school if he didn't clean his act up. This was a trained assassin for crying out loud. The cops would just arrest him, SHIELD was defunct now that it had been revealed as a part of HYDRA, and who else could they call? Donatella was sure that Bucky didn't know where to go next, either. Hell, his idea of going somewhere to hide was Bucharest. How were they supposed to get there? She realized he'd never told her. Could he even get through customs with that arm?

"Um, Buck…" she trailed off, and he turned, raising his eyebrows. "How exactly are we getting to Bucharest? Not that I'm doubting your trip planning skills." she finished quickly. He smirked slightly, settling deeper into the water. Her fingers were beginning to prune from the moisture, and he wasn't answering. "Hello, earth to Sergeant Barnes." she waved her hand in front of his face to snap him into motion.

"It's a surprise." he replied mysteriously, and she groaned. Her stomach twisted with nerves and she leaned forward.

"Okay that really isn't helpful and you know it. Do I need my passport? Or are we doing this illegally." she frowned. His face fell into his signature "are you stupid" look and she cringed. "Okay, yeah dumb question we definitely can't go anywhere… legally right now I guess. Where are we going to stay when we get there? I can shell out some pocket change for a fancy hotel." she offered.

"That's too high profile. I have a safe house there, difficult to trace. It's not fancy, but it'll work." he replied. She sighed, turning to face the tv again, surprised to see it was rolling the credits. She really needed to pay closer attention to what was going on and stop getting lost in her thoughts.

"When are we leaving?" she asked.

"Tomorrow."

**We're finally getting somewhere with their relationship! I could've smashed them together a long time ago, but it just felt way more natural to wait with them. Bucky's a cautious guy, and this just felt right to me. Thanks for favoriting and reviewing! We're reaching the climax of the story!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: Bad Influence**

What does one wear to steal a jet? Bucky really wasn't helping out. Since he'd told her the plan fifteen minutes ago, she was told she had an hour to be packed and ready to go. They were gonna steal a fucking plane, holy _shit_. He wouldn't tell her from where or what was going on or even how he knew how to fly one of those things, but there was a sort of dangerous thrill that fizzled through her body at the thought of actually going through with it. She'd never done anything like this before she met him, sure she'd gotten in trouble, but never really broke the law. This was _so_ that 'good girl falls for bad boy' cliche, and she wasn't sure whether to embrace it or run screaming in the other direction. So far she'd been having fun along the ride, but would she change her mind after this?

There was no time to dwell. If she was going to get arrested she wanted to look good for her mugshot, so she applied a decent amount of makeup, thinking a red lip was essential for this type of situation. Sexy, dangerous outfit was next. Her black leather pants were out, she could not breathe in those things. So plain black leggings? She guessed they were okay. She had an old pair of black combat boots that she'd regretted purchasing until that very moment, and stuffed her feet into them, looking for a black shirt to go with the outfit. Tight fitting black turtleneck? Check. Cool-looking motorcycle jacket? Double check. Sunglasses? Hell yeah. She stuffed her parka into her new bag, a duffel so she could fit some more things.

"What the hell are you wearing?" she heard from the doorway, and she whirled to see Bucky crossing his arms over his red henley and black hoodie combo.

"If I'm about to do things your way, I'm gonna dress cool." his eyes trailed over her form lazily.

"You're gonna attract too much attention looking like that, find something else." he sighed. She shook her head.

"I'm dressed in dark colors, it's _incognito_." she explained. He sighed, rolling his eyes.

"No, you look like you're planning on committing a crime. Lose the jacket and change your shirt, the shoes are fine." he sighed. "Wear a gray shirt or something, muted colors are easier to blend into crowds with." Bucky explained. She pouted, throwing her jacket onto her bed.

"_Fine_. But I'm keeping the lipstick." she compromised. His gaze lingered on the color, then he nodded.

"I like it." he admitted before turning to leave the room. "And pack _lightly_. Wear the parka, not that jacket. You'll look stupid." she scoffed, looking at her leather jacket. It wasn't stupid. Was it? She pulled her parka out and threw on a dark gray crewneck. She supposed he was an expert in this. She glanced at herself in the mirror, frowning. Was the sweater too bulky? She sighed. She needed to stop nitpicking. Nobody cared if she looked bigger than usual in the sweater. It was fine. As long as she lived through the endeavor, it would work. She checked in her bag once more, thankful that she checked the calendar and she wouldn't need anything for her period in well over two weeks. Thank god for small miracles.

"Bucky, I'm ready!" she called, bounding down the stairs. He was in the kitchen, packing them some food that he said would last them a while. She wasn't sure about that, but she'd let it slide. "What next?" she asked. Yesterday he had made her go to four different banks, transferring ten-thousand dollars between multiple currencies in order to cover their tracks in case anyone looked into the bank records to track their plan. He said it would take anyone searching awhile to find where they had ended up. They were fine on cash, she was to leave her cell-phone in the house, and to only use the burner phone for emergencies. She'd been thoroughly briefed, and it made excitement flare through her body.

"Next we get on the bike." he shrugged on his leather jacket, and she felt a slow smile spread across her face.

"Hell yeah, time for motorcycles!" she cheered, she hopped after him as he entered the garage. They'd found a cheap bike for sale on ebay, paid cash, and planned to abandon the death trap where they got on the plane. "So whose plane are we stealing?"

"You don't know them. It's an old… acquaintance that won't really be needing it." he shoved a helmet down onto her head. "He thinks I'm under the soldier influence, so he has the plane ready to take me to a new handler. I'm putting earplugs in, so if you need to get my attention for anything you tell me. You're my hostage, remember, so pretend like you're unwilling. Oh, and here." he reached behind him, pulling a black pistol out and handing it to her. It laid heavy in her hands, and her body froze. "Do _not_ use it unless there is an extreme emergency where we are separated. If you pull it out around me I'm taking it away, and if the guy sees you have that he will know you're not really a hostage and then our one shot is blown. Got it?"

"Um… I don't even know how to use it." holding it felt wrong. She was about to be a doctor, she took oaths to _protect_ people, and here she was holding a deadly weapon. She made a mental note to never aim for anything vital on the off chance she had to use it in the near future. He gave her a quick demonstration on turning off the safety and cocking it, and she obviously knew how to pull the trigger, but she still felt scared. The giddiness had finally worn off, and the reality of the situation sunk it.

She might have to see him kill people. Sure, they were bad people that were trying to get him to be a brainwashed tool again, and she understood that he would not go there again. But wouldn't things just be so much easier if they could just talk it out? She sighed, wishful thinking. Of course the world didn't work like that. Bucky turned the safety back on and helped her put it in her waistband.

"What if I shoot my ass off?" she joked, and he gave her a look. "Yeah, that was a weak one." she chuckled nervously. "Um, I…" she cleared her throat. "What do I do if something happens to you?" she squeaked. What would she do without him? Go to Bucharest alone? No, of course not, she couldn't fly. But, she doubted she'd be safe at home again.

"Don't worry, nothings gonna happen to me." he shook his head, stuffing their things into the seat of the bike. She'd have to hold one of the backpacks, but that was fine with her.

"But what if-" she was nervous, and he really wasn't giving her a chance to put those fears out into the air.

"Donatella. Nothing bad will happen as long as we stick to the plan. We're in this together, okay?" he tapped the top of her helmet.

"God that was sickly sweet. Is this our best friends movie montage moment?" she snapped back into sarcasm almost on reflex, and he groaned, swinging his leg over to straddle the motorcycle.

"Just get on and shut up." he sighed. She scrambled on behind him, squeezing him as tight as she could. Out of fear. Definitely out of fear, obviously she wasn't just trying to feel him up or anything. But damn, that ass felt _nice _against her thighs. When he revved the engine and sped off, however, the scream she let out was pure terror. He wasn't even gonna slow into it? Damn, how rude. She got over her fear pretty quickly.

Honestly, after the 45 minutes they were on it, it got kind of boring. Her legs were chafing and her butt was sore, but he had finally begun to slow. She wanted to squeal with excitement, but knew she had to keep quiet and act her part.

"Okay, if we're gonna sell, it, put up a struggle in front of him." Bucky mumbled in her ear once they'd gotten off. He pulled a short cord from his pocket and loosely tied her wrists. It looked like she was bound tightly, but if she pulled the end the ropes would slip off. He grabbed their things, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and the duffel. She still had the last pack on, and he grabbed her by the elbow and marched her to the building. She stumbled a bit, not really having to sell it that hard after all. He pounded on the door, and it opened a crack after a few moments.

She gave a harsh tug against his grip, and he scowled, pulling her back. Damn, he was a good actor. She tried to give as good a performance, and apparently it worked because the door opened fully and they were brought inside. A man in tactical gear led them through the dark building, scarce naked bulbs flickering dim light against the dingy walls. Bucky asked a question in a language she didn't recognize, was that Russian? The man answered, and Bucky nodded, seemingly satisfied. They made it to an elevator, this one was even more beat up and creepy than the one in her building.

"Where are you taking me?" she tried to whimper, giving a real wince when Bucky's grip tightened. He made no motion that signified he'd noticed that it hurt her except for slowly loosening it again.

"Shut up." he growled, and she felt a jolt of uneasiness sneak down her spine. Damn, he really was selling it to her, too. Once the elevator made it to the floor, they managed to get out and follow the tactical guy to another staircase. Bucky frog-walked her up ahead of him, and every time he snarled when she stumbled made her even more nervous. He used her to push open the door, not being very gentle as he held her hands behind her back, and the light from the rooftop blinded her for a moment.

"Soldier. Who is this?" a new voice asked. Tactical gear guy was behind them and there was a man in a gray pinstripe suit standing there waiting for them.

"Bioengineer. The arm needed repair." he replied. She then realized, wasn't he wearing ear plugs? He must be able to read lips, she surmised.

"You won't need her. Your handler will be able to fix anything that happened." the man waved at her, pretty much dismissing her. Bucky stiffened imperceptibly.

"Wait so you mean I can go home?" she tried to sound hopeful, pulling away from Bucky as best she could. The man gave her a pitiful look. He motioned to someone behind them, and tactical guy came up, grabbing her other arm.

"You can be disposed of." he explained. He turned away to go towards the plane, and panic gripped her throat.

"No, no no no wait!" she tried to yank away from tactical guy. "We can make a deal, I'm loaded so you guys can have my trust fund!" she attempted to bribe. Bucky let go, his eyes a steely blue in that moment, no recognition in his gaze. She was scared, wasn't he going to stop them? She stumbled over her feet as tactical guy brought her towards the building. A flash of silver glinted from the corner of her eye, and something cool pressed against the side of her head.

"Nothing personal." he said with a thick accent, and she stared horrified at Bucky as he watched. Wasn't he going to fucking do something? She blinked, and in the time her eyes had closed and reopened the gun had gone off. But she… was fine? She glanced around, confused to see tactical guy on the ground. Another shot went off, and she noticed pinstripe was down. There was blood on her, holy shit. There was blood on the roof, and she felt cool metal fingers press against her side.

"We have to move now. There's more inside." he shoved her towards the plane. She stumbled up the steps and into the cabin, and the pilot whirled on them with a pistol. Bucky shot him clean through, running over to grab the body and toss him onto the roof. "Sit down and buckle up!" he shouted as the engine whirred to life. He closed the door, running back towards the front of the plane. It was sleek and high-tech, and she wondered where these people got their money from. The government, probably. There was a lurch as it began to lift, and she rushed to the front beside Bucky, sitting in the co-pilot chair and snapping the belt around her body.

"Shit, there's people coming." she panicked, and Bucky grunted as the jet hovered over the building, clearly going as fast as possible. She screamed as they began shooting, ducking her head down to her knees.

"It's bulletproof." he explained as they shot off the building, the bullets pinging harmlessly off the plane. Something crackled above their heads, and a voice speaking in a foreign language began to speak. He tensed, reaching above him with the metal arm and punching out the speaker. "Okay, it should be safe now, but I'm gonna need to get in stealth mode. Can you help me out with that?" he had both hands on the steering, and so she nodded. "Okay, go to that panel and input the code three-seven-three, then twist the key and pull it out." she did as he asked and held it out to him. "Take the key and put it into that hole right now and when you twist it, hit the button above your head." she located the places and did it in the right order, causing Bucky to sigh in relief. He pulled the earplugs out, tossing them behind him.

"Holy fuck." she collapsed into the chair. "They were… oh my god, the guns…" she shivered, pulling her knees up to her chest. Those men were dead now.

"Are you okay?" one of his arms reached out for her, and she quickly grasped his hand for comfort. The cold metal of his fingers soothed her, and she squeezed tightly. His thumb ran circles over the back of her hand.

"They're dead." she choked out. "I've never seen someone…" she had never seen the life leave someone's eyes like that. It was awful. But Bucky had killed before, and might have to do it again.

"I'm sorry that it had to be like that. But I couldn't let them hurt you." he revealed, lacing his fingers through hers. "I can't lose you." Bucky admitted. She squeezed his hand again, not replying. But she felt the same.

"You played your part really well." she complimented. "For a minute I thought that you… didn't care." she finished lamely. "It was a little scary." they were flying over water now.

"I knew that if… well, they found out anyways now I guess, but I couldn't just let them…" he struggled to find the words to use. She let out a breathy laugh.

"Yeah, I know. Me too." she sighed, tilting her head back against the seat. They were over open water now, and she felt the exhilaration from the morning finally draining away, exhaustion taking over.

"Get some rest. We've got a ten hour flight." he prompted her, and she greedily obeyed, curling up in her chair with her fingers still linked with his.

…

Going to sleep was a mistake. She replayed it over and over again, the two shots, the dead men, the dead pilot, the blood that disappeared into her dark pants. Bucky shouting, Bucky becoming the soldier, Bucky getting wiped, Bucky _not remembering her_.

That was what eventually woke her. The idea that if he got caught he'd never remember their time together. She would never let that happen as long as she lived. Which, looking at how her life was going, may end sooner than her projections had led her to believe.

"Bad dream?" Bucky whispered. She was still holding onto his hand, his hand nearly icy in the cold air. She shivered, sitting up to look out the dark window.

"How long was I out?" she yawned, leaning towards him. Even from a distance he let off a nice amount of heat.

"Six hours. We've got just over four to go." he explained. She groaned, stretching her legs out and wiggling in her seat, getting the pins and needles out of her butt.

"Sorry I slept so long, it must've been boring." she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. He shrugged, rubbing circles into her hand again.

"It wasn't too bad. You talk in your sleep." he smiled, glancing over. She noticed he was no longer handling the controls, and autopilot was on.

"I do not." she answered lamely, knowing she for sure did. He let out a soft chuckle and squeezed her hand before dropping it.

"Are you hungry? We've got a whole bag of Cheetos." he leaned back in his chair, popping his spine before scooping up their food pack.

"I can't believe you brought the Cheetos." she scoffed, but greedily pulled out the cheesy snack and ripping it open, sighing at the sight. "Wow, I'm way more hungry than I thought." she laughed when her stomach growled loudly. They munched quietly, staring out at the dark sky ahead of them.

"What was college like?" he asked softly. Don turned to him, but he was still looking out the window.

"Why do you want to know?" she was curious. He shrugged, shaking his head.

"I never got to go. Never had anything to go for, really." he shrugged. Her heart twinged: he was such a smart man, he'd have loved being able to go and learn. He would have been a great student, he deserved it so much more than half of the kids whose parents forced them to go.

"Well, what kind of stuff do you want to hear? I wasn't the greatest student in the beginning." she admitted with a laugh. "I partied a lot, which was so dumb." Don rolled her eyes at herself.

"You went to parties a lot?" he gave her a look. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Well, yeah, my boyfriend at the time was in a frat, so I went to a lot of his mixers." she shrugged. He shot her another look.

"That really just doesn't seem like you." he shook his head. This caused her to laugh, and he smiled.

"Okay, well there was this one time I did a keg stand and I did horribly, plus I was miserable the rest of the night. I ended up in the pool in my underwear crying, and my friends had to physically get in the pool to get me out because I refused to go home. It was so embarrassing." she groaned, putting her head against the headrest of her chair. He laughed, a true, gorgeous laugh and she tilted her head to look at him. She'd never seen him look like that. It was amazing to see.

"Of course you would." He shook his head. "Any more?"

"Oh god, once I was going to do seven minutes in heaven with this super hot girl that I had a huge crush on. I was so nervous, I waited in the closet for a few minutes while she went to the bathroom." She winced. "I psyched myself out so much that I ran screaming from the house. I wasn't even wearing shoes. I ran all the way back to my dorm." He laughed again, throwing his head back. A smile played on her lips at the sight of him looking so happy. "I avoided her for weeks after that, it was so embarrassing. We never spoke again." She moaned.

"Of course you made it weird." He rolled his eyes, tilting his head back into his seat, crumpling the empty chip bag in his metal hand.

"Oh here's the worst one." She winced, leaning forward onto her knees to prepare herself for the embarrassment. "So I met this guy at a party, and I had enough to drink, so I was in good form. He was dancing with me, and then he invited me upstairs, and I went along cuz I'm an idiot, and we were making out at the top of the stairs and I tried to stand up with his help but I managed to trip and knock him over and he fell all the way down. He bit the tip of his tongue off. I was mortified." She buried her face in her hands. "People called me kiss of death after that." She laughed, and when she looked over at him he was leaned back with his hands clutching his stomach, silent laughter shaking his body. "Okay it is _not_ that funny." She pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"D-did they fix his tongue?" He gasped, wiping the corner of his eye.

"Yes, they had to sew the tip back on." She chuckled. "I felt so bad for him, I didn't kiss anyone after that for a few months at least."

"What were you, some sort of serial kisser?" He leaned forward, intrigued. She shook her head.

"I wasn't a prude, but I definitely wasn't promiscuous either. I just like kissing." She shrugged. His laughter slowly faded into a smirk, and his eyes glanced down to her lips. She felt her mouth dry at the look in his eyes when he met hers again, and she swallowed stiffly. God dammit, why was he so enticing? He had a permanent look about him that just oozed pure flirtation somehow, even though his body language was completely stiff and unapproachable otherwise. Why did she want to lean forward to meet his lips? Feel the stubble scrape her chin, touch his soft hair, be encircled by his arms… damn, she needed to cool down. "How much longer?" She asked, looking away first. Coward.

"Just under four." He stretched again, his legs crowding in front of hers, the muscles in his delectable thighs flexing as he crossed his ankles. He tilted his head and crossed his arms over his chest. The man really knew his angles.

"Well, you know embarrassing things about me now. What about you?" She asked cautiously, knowing most of his memories were gone. He sighed, eyes misting over wistfully, and he clearly wasn't in the present anymore. His lips pursed together pensively before he spoke.

"Well, the guy I used to be… he's not the same person I am now. Too much has changed for me to be… him." He shook his head, glancing over to her. She sat on her hands, nodding encouragingly. He was actually going to tell her? "Steve and I were like brothers back then. I was, well, completely different. Not to brag, but I had a new girl every week." He chuckled bitterly.

"I'd believe it. You clean up pretty well, Barnes." She smiled, biting her lip as he shot her a look.

"I don't know, I guess so. I thought it was fun, going on dates, dancing. I never went steady with a girl, it was always just for fun, nothing serious. I had a lot of fun. But it was hard to keep track of everyone." He scratched his neck as he flushed. "I was fooling around with a girl in the back of a car, and I called the dame by the wrong name." He admitted, and she gasped.

"No! Oh my god that didn't happen. What did she do?" She leaned forward, extremely intrigued, even though there was a pang of jealousy low in her stomach.

"She slapped me hard. I had a bruise for a week, and she told everyone about it. No girl would look me in the eye for months because of that." His fingers ghosted over his cheekbone, eyes unfocused as a smile played over his lips. "Steve really thought that was a hoot. He teased me relentlessly, kept calling me Binky." His grin widened. "That kid, always biting off more than he could chew…"

"Are you and Steve still friends now?" She asked. His smile faded, and regret sunk in, wishing she hadn't ruined the mood. "Oh, I didn't mean…"

"It's okay." He cleared his throat. "I'm just… he thinks that I'm still that same Bucky from the forties, the one that used to crash on the couch and hang out with him. But I'm not that guy anymore. Too much has changed." His voice was rough as he finished, and he lowered his gaze to the floor with clenched fists.

"Are you scared you'll disappoint him?" She asked quietly. His eyes squeezed shut. "I understand that. When something big changes, there's like, a big piece of you gets scooped out and thrown out, and you can try and find the pieces but they'll never be quite the same again…" she sighed, tracing her finger over her knee. "But I don't think Steve is the same one from back then either." His eyebrows furrowed as he opened his eyes, glancing up at her.

"How so?" He asked cautiously. She thought carefully before answering.

"I don't know what he's been through, but…" she trailed off, her fingers plucking at piece of lint on her leggings. The stubborn thing wouldn't get off, and she sighed frustratedly. "Steve was literally brought back from the dead. He was found frozen in a block of ice, it was miraculous he survived… the whole nation rejoiced having our hero back, and he was lost. Alone and afraid in a strange place, everyone he knew and loved was dead or had moved the fuck on. _You_ were dead, Buck. And now he has a chance of getting you back." She said firmly. His eyes met hers again, something pure shining from the depths. "You both have a chance to put another piece in place. I'd kill for that." She finished firmly, her fingers clutching at the heart-shaped gem around her neck. His eyes tracked her movement, something swimming in his gaze.

"Your parents…" he murmured.

"They sucked. They were terrible people. But if I could have had one more day with my dad teaching me how to create a power source, or my mom showing me how to strip wiring to re-calibrate a junk pacemaker…" her voice shook. "They were my parents no matter what. They brought me into this world. They kind of loved me, I think. And I loved them, even if they sucked. They were my _parents_, Bucky." She choked out, wetness hitting her cheeks, horrified to realize she was crying. He stood from his chair and knelt in front of her, grabbing her hands in his with a squeeze.

"I'm sorry. I know it's been a rough couple of days for you." His voice was impossibly soft and velvety, and his words soothed her soul like a balm.

"For both of us, I think." She laughed hollowly. "I'm sorry, too. I'm sure babysitting hasn't been easy." Donatella joked, and his fingers tightened around hers.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. We're in this together, remember?" that soft voice, those sweet words, how the hell could she _not_ love him? She gave him a crooked smile and he grinned back. "That's more like it." He patted her thigh and stood again.

"So our spring break getaway, it's in Bucharest, right? Anything cool around there? A museum? Anything to see, really." She was hopeful that she wouldn't have to sit in a safe room all day.

"Well, the part of town isn't great. Secure, but not a lot around. The apartment itself…" he trailed off with a wince. "You'll have to lower your expectations. A lot. It's barely even an apartment, more like a room… yeah. A room." He smiled at her sheepishly. She bit her lip.

"So like, hotel room? Or sleeping bag room." She frowned.

"I think there's a mattress." He said mattress, not bed. Was it just a floor mattress? Okay, whatever, she could deal.

Wait, one mattress?

Shit. She could not deal.

How the hell was she expected to sleep in a single room next to this man, this whole ass man, with that god-like face and body? Jesus H Christ there was no way. Absolutely no way she'd survive the ordeal.

"Are you okay?" He asked, snapping her from her internal freak out.

"Yeah, just not looking forward to sleeping on the floor." She laughed nervously. He winced.

"Sorry. Usually it's just me…" he frowned. She sighed, shaking her head.

"It's really fine, don't worry about it." She waved off his concern, sighing as she settled into her seat. "Wanna play I spy?" She asked, feeling bored.

"People still do that?" Bucky squinted at her. She shrugged.

"Beats doing nothing." She reasoned. He pursed his lips again, and her heart skipped a beat.

"Okay. I spy with my little eye something…" he held the g as he glanced around the cabin. "Something green." He leaned back, looking satisfied with himself, giving her a lazy smirk.

"Is it that green light on the dash?" She pointed at a button. His smile dropped.

"How did you guess that?" He demanded, leaning forward as she laughed.

"You're so bad at this game, you said it as soon as you saw it." She jeered. "Okay my turn. I spy with my little eye…" her eyes skimmed over a hanging red cord with a handle to pull, and she continued her gaze but secretly chose it. Her eyes settled on him. "Something red."

"My shirt." He guessed quickly. She gave a sharp shake of her head, and he frowned. "The seats." He smiled, thinking he was right.

"Not even close." She smirked. He pursed his lips again.

"That button. That button?" He continued to guess multiple buttons as she shook her head. "Okay, the emergency switch." He pointed to, you guessed it, another button.

"It's not a fucking button, Buck." She laughed. He frowned and glanced around.

"There's only red buttons!" He threw his arms out to the sides.

"No there is not." Donatella rolled her eyes, pointing to the cord. He glared at it.

"That's brown!" He shouted, crossing his arms.

"It's definitely red." She shook her head. He stood up to grab it, inspecting it closely.

"Okay from where I was sitting I thought it was brown. That doesn't count, okay?" His expression puckered. She burst into laughter, holding her stomach tightly as he gave her a look.

"Okay, fine, I guess it didn't count." She wheezed, wiping a tear that had escaped her eye. He had an unamused look that slowly morphed into that sexy smirk, and suddenly her breath caught in her throat. What was she laughing about again? She was distracted. His gaze was alert on her, and she felt her heart beat faster at the way his eyes were raking up and down her form. What was he staring at? She gulped nervously.

"Donatella." He began, and she felt her mouth go dry at the slight accent that came out whenever he used her full name. How did his voice cause her mind to go blank?

"Y-yeah?" She squeaked out, causing his smirk to widen.

"You have Cheeto dust on your shirt." She squawked, patting the fabric on her torso trying to get the food off. He gave her a chuckle, and she felt her face flush. _That _was what he'd been staring at so intently? God, for a moment she'd thought he might have been attracted to her…

She really needed to stop reading into his looks so much. It was going to drive her insane.

**Early update! I wasn't sure if I'd have time tomorrow to post this (I'm seeing Endgame after class!), so I'm bumping the update schedule up a day (not sure if anyone's complaining though). Also, we're over halfway through this story! Thanks so much for all the support you guys have given me so far!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: Perfect Illusion**

**This Chapter Contains Adult Themes**

"Wow. This is… something." Donatella's eyebrows had raised once she'd seen what the apartment looked like. A mattress on the floor, one blanket and no pillow. A dingy stove, a radio, and a few dusty, damaged books. One bathroom with a gross looking shower, old toilet, and cracked mirror. There was a lamp with no bulb, so the only light in the room came from the can lights in the ceiling. The kitchen counter housed a dirty looking coffee machine and a sad, burnt out toaster.

"It's nothing like your places, but it'll work for the time being." He shrugged, dropping his backpack on the ground and then opening their food pack. He dumped everything onto the wobbly table, sorting out things to go in the cupboards.

"Oh my god." She yelped as she saw a big bug crawl across the floor and onto her bag. Bucky crossed the small room, stooping down to pick up the offending creature. He went over to the window, cracked it open, and tossed the bug out. She grimaced. "That was officially the worst concierge I've ever seen." she joked, shivering. He cracked a smile at that.

"You hungry? We can have peanut butter sandwiches." he held up the bread and the jar. She chuckled at his expression and nodded. He pulled a knife from his pocket, a real long one, and her mouth dropped as he went to put it in the jar.

"Stop!" she shouted. He glanced up at her, alarmed with the deadly-looking knife hovering over the peanut butter. "Has that been… used for killing?" he slowly looked down at the blade.

"Well, yeah."

"Do not put that in the peanut butter jar!" she squealed, reaching forward to knock it away from the food. "That's literally so gross, are you nuts?"

"It's clean!" he defended. She gave him an exasperated look as she opened the drawers in the tiny kitchen, finding a butter knife.

"You don't cook with weapons, Bucky." she sighed, scooping out the peanut butter and spreading it across the bread. "I feel like you should know this." she slapped the sandwich together and handed it to him.

"I can make a peanut butter sandwich for myself." he rolled his eyes, gently taking it from her.

"I don't know if I can trust your judgement at this point." she began making another, scooting it in front of him before making herself one. He chewed quietly.

"A knife is a knife." he shrugged.

"You're very wrong, Buck." she laughed, taking a bite. The bread had been slightly squashed on the trip over, but still tasted fine. He gave her a pouting look, the knife still twirling between his fingers. He looked dangerous and cute at the same time, dark clothes and hard rough edges, that shiny silver blade flipping between his fingers with ease as he ate his sandwich. It was kind of hot, she had to admit. She wasn't quite sure how to react. Absentmindedly as she watched the glinting blade, she licked some stray peanut butter off of her thumb. Bucky slowed his actions and set the knife down before finally putting it away. He'd finished his sandwiches, and he got up with a large stretch.

"We might have to pick up some food and a few necessities tomorrow." he glanced around the room, frowning at the dusty interior.

"I'd suggest maybe a few pillows and a new blanket with less holes could be at the top of the list." she gave him a smirk. The look he gave her was priceless, all pouty lips and sad eyes.

"Okay no need to make fun of my humble abode. We can't all be trust fund babies." he replied coolly. She gasped at his mocking tone.

"Wow, that was low." she nudged his arm, wincing at the unyielding metal against her elbow. He chuckled at her antics and walked over to the mattress. He picked up the blanket, unfolding it and peering through a few of the especially thin patches. His metal fingers glinted through and he winced, dropping it back onto the bed.

"Yeah, that's a little thin." he sighed, kicking the toe of his boots against the old mattress. It scooted across the floor easily, leaving a dusty streak on the hardwood where it had kept the floor beneath clean.

"Maybe some cleaning supplies could go on the list too." she suggested, and he chuckled with a nod. He moved to the radio, fiddling with the extremely outdated dials. She was shocked the thing still worked, it had to be at least thirty years old. Some pop song shot through the static and he made a face before switching the thing off.

"I hate the music of this generation. I should find a record player and get some good music to play." he sighed, shaking his head. She rolled her eyes and stood.

"Don't be such a hater. I like the music nowadays." she frowned, glancing around the room for something to do. She spotted an old dusty magazine, and she went to pick it up and grimaced when she realized it was an older one, something with a pinup girl on the cover. "Really?" she pinched the offending thing between her index finger and thumb, waggling it in his direction. "Do I want to know why you have this?" she raised an eyebrow and he shrugged.

"I like the articles." he mentioned, avoiding looking at the magazine.

"Yeah. Uh huh." she smirked, amused at the man. He was so no-nonsense and yet he was, of course, still a guy in the worst ways. She flipped it open, going through the pictures. It was quite modest, if she was being honest, all of the good parts staying covered, only a few topless photos. But there were lots of fishnets and bustiers and gorgeous curvy women. A lot of redheads, too. Those pages were earmarked, she noticed. "Not the worst I've ever seen." she dropped the magazine back down onto a shoddy table, a puff of dust coming up around it. He shrugged again, then dropped down to sit cross-legged on the floor. She copied his actions, sitting across from him as he studied her. She glanced at his now exposed metal arm, it shone brightly in the dim light. It was dark, and very late, and suddenly she felt the day creep up on her. Her eyelids drooped.

"Tired?" he asked as she yawned. She shrugged, fiddling with the laces on her boots, slowly pulling the ties undone. She slipped her feet out, massaging the arches with a wince. "I'm going to shower." he got up, kicking his own shoes off and walking into the bathroom with his backpack. She decided to get into bed while he was showering, so she grabbed a pair of cloth shorts and a hoodie from her bag, shucking her other clothes quickly and putting the pajamas on. She scrubbed a makeup wipe over her face and slapped on some moisturizer, refusing to sleep with makeup on, even if she was on the run currently. She crawled under the old blanket, balling up her jacket into a makeshift pillow and laying down.

Leaving enough room for Bucky, she settled onto her side with a sigh, her breathing evening out until she was just on the cusp of sleep. She heard the bathroom door open and soft footsteps approach. The mattress shifted slightly, the old springs creaking as Bucky crawled in beside her. He tugged some of the blanket over his body, and she could feel warmth seeping from his skin, heating her up before she could even realize how cold she was. Without meaning to, she shifted closer, her back ghosting the side of his arm as she soaked in his warmth. His elbow tapped the small of her back, and he muttered a quiet apology in the dark. His breathing slowed, and her body melted into a puddle of exhaustion as sleep finally took over her mind.

….

Waking up was hard. Donatella was nice and toasty, with the blanket pulled up to her chin and her back pressed up against something solid and warm. She shifted closer, and she felt something move against her side, realizing it was Bucky's metal arm. _Now_ she was awake. Were they… cuddling? There was no way he was consciously letting this happen. She slit her eyes open, blinking at the warm light from the rising sun shining through the windows. Slowly she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She peered around at the room as she stretched, her stomach giving a pang of hunger. Glancing down, she saw Bucky stirring, his hair tousled over his eyes as he rolled over to the opposite side of the small bed. She stood, cracking her sore spine. The mattress wasn't the comfiest, a bit more firm than she was used to, but she slept well. She walked over to their bag of food, hopping onto the counter to rummage around for a granola bar. She heard a soft noise, kind of like a kitten waking up. She saw Bucky sit up in bed, ruffling his hand through his hair.

"Hey angel." she greeted him, and he turned towards her. His eyes were puffy with sleep, his hair all tangled up. He blinked slowly, apparently waking up was hard for him that morning. He pushed the blanket off his legs, standing up and stretching hard, a few loud pops escaping his joints. He was wearing plain black sweatpants and a t-shirt that hugged tight to his frame, showing off the bulk beneath. She still thought it was insane how fit the man was.

"What time is it?" he mumbled, shuffling over to her. She glanced at her watch, frowning.

"It's eight." she sighed. He slumped into a chair, scraping his hand over his stubble.

"We should go find some breakfast." he mentioned as she finally pulled out a squashed granola bar. She glanced at him with an excited look, dropping the snack back into the bag.

"I'm very interested in that." she slid off her perch to stand in front of him. "Should we go shopping right away too then?" he nodded, using her arm to pull himself up. She stumbled closer to him due to his weight, then moved towards her bag. "I'm going to take a quick shower and then we can get going." she walked into the bathroom, starting the shower before brushing her teeth. Once it was sufficiently warm she jumped in, deciding to quickly shave her legs before washing everything. She finished as fast as possible, and once she was out the made sure to get dressed in something warm. Even though it was warmer here than it was at home, she still felt a chill in the air. After yanking a brush through her hair and braiding it back, she glared at her face. Should she put makeup on? Maybe just a bit. She swept mascara over her lashes, a little bit of concealer, and dabbed lipgloss on. Okay, done. She still looked like crap, but it was better than the drowned rat she resembled before. She left the bathroom, zipping her backpack shut again. Bucky was brushing his teeth in the kitchen sink.

Shirtless. Of course he would be. She averted her eyes as she put her bag into the corner by the bed, and he spat and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. His hair had been combed and he pulled a black henley over his head, the top open and revealing some of his sculpted chest. She bit her lip and looked away. Ogling him when they lived in such close quarters was definitely not appropriate.

"Ready to go?" he asked once he'd tied his shoes. She nodded, slipping her feet into some sneakers. She followed him to the door, patting the pocket of her jacket to check for her cash.

"First we get some grub, then we can find a store hopefully." she mused as they descended the stairs. He took them so fast she went a little dizzy. "Where do we start?" she asked as they stopped outside the building. He strode off to the left and she scrambled to follow. He went a few blocks without speaking before stopping outside what appeared to be a cafe.

"Here." he pulled the door open for her. She hesitantly stepped in, and he followed close behind. He walked over to a booth, slipping into it. She mirrored his actions on the other side, and he picked up a menu.

"So this is like a diner?" she picked up her own menu, frowning when she didn't recognize the language. "Uh, what are my options?" she laughed weakly. He smiled and read her some of the options on the menu. A waitress came over and asked a question. Donatella stared at her blankly.

"What do you want to drink?" Bucky translated for her.

"Oh, uh, coffee and orange juice?" she asked weakly. He turned to the waitress and said a few words that she sort of could recognize, and she nodded and whisked away.

"What about food?" he asked, and she told him what she wanted from the list he'd given her before. "Okay, you might have to tell me again when she comes back." he nodded, setting his own menu down.

"So our list of things to get are some basic groceries, pillows, blankets, and…?" she trailed off.

"Record player. And records." he added. She gave him a look.

"Are those necessities?" she laughed. He nodded solemnly.

"Absolutely. I haven't heard good music in seventy years, let me have this one thing." he held up a gloved finger. She laughed again, and the waitress appeared out of nowhere, causing her to jump. She set down their drinks, and Bucky rapidly said their orders to her before she left again. There were a few other people in the restaurant, a TV playing in the corner. He smiled when she grimaced at her black coffee.

"This stuff is like tar, I don't drink coffee a lot." she dumped some sugar and cream in it, stirring until it was pale.

"I've never tried it like that." he gestured to hers.

"Wanna try?" she offered the mug. He gently took it from her, sipping slowly. His eyebrows came down into a pensive look as he handed it back.

"I think you put too much sugar, but it's good." he nodded, grabbing the cream and sugar for his own mug.

"There's no such thing as too much sugar, my dear." she wagged a finger at him as she took a gulp of her drink. He chuckled, sipping his own, which had only a moderate amount of sweetener.

"That's just your opinion." he shrugged. The waitress came over extremely quickly with their food, and her mouth watered at the sight of the crispy bacon and fluffy waffles. She quickly dug in, pouring the syrup over her plate and scarfing her food down almost at the same rate as Bucky. "You seem hungry." he paused, glancing down at her food.

"I think it's the excitement from the past few days catching up to me." she shrugged. The waitress came over to refill their drinks, making a comment to Bucky. He paled and shook his head, saying something back. The only word she'd recognized was 'no'. He coughed as she left, taking a large sip of water. "What'd she say?" Don asked.

"Uh, she um." he cleared his throat. "She asked if we were… expecting." he looked extremely uncomfortable. Her jaw dropped, and she let out a loud peal of laughter.

"You're joking!" she gasped. "Do we look like a couple? I'm impressed that I bagged you." Don gestured to him with her fork, and he shot her that special look.

"Just eat your food." he muttered, stabbing a piece of egg with his fork a bit more aggressively than necessary.

"What's our story? Are we married? Is this the honeymoon? No, you look too irritated to be on a honeymoon. Maybe we're trying to rekindle our marriage." Don babbled teasingly, and his blue eyes turned cloudy with annoyance.

"I should've gagged you when I had the chance." he muttered, causing her to laugh.

"Kinky bastard." she fake gasped, holding her hand to her heart in faux shock. Bucky scowled.

"Stop being so inappropriate." he took another swig of his coffee.

"Darling, I'm not the one who chose me to fix them up that fateful night." she drawled, taking a bite of her bacon.

"Did I actually choose you? Or were you just in the wrong place at the wrong time?" he chuckled.

"I'd like to believe it was fate that we met that night." she sniffed, finishing her orange juice. He shot her a lopsided grin and went back to his meal. She ate the rest of her breakfast quickly, and the waitress left the bill. She counted out the money with help from Bucky and once again they were on their way.

"Here, this looks good." Bucky led them inside a small store. She glanced around at the foreign lettering on familiar boxes. Grabbing a basket, she began a slow perusal through the aisles. "I'm going to go grab some milk, stay in this section." Bucky ghosted his hand over her arm before disappearing down the cereal aisle. She grabbed a few boxes that she knew he'd tried and liked before, looking at one of them to see if she could recognize any words. She kind of could, Italian and Romanian both had Latin roots, but it was slightly off.

"_Scuzați-mă de dor?"_ she heard from beside her. A guy was smiling at her. He was pretty cute, she had to admit, but had no idea what he'd said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't speak Romanian." she hoped he'd understand that there was a language barrier.

"Yes, I will speak English. What is your name?" he asked with another friendly smile.

"Oh, I don't… uh, I'm sorry but what did you need exactly?" she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear awkwardly. She felt a bit uncomfortable in this strange place with this strange man.

"I thought you were a very beautiful woman, _dragoste_, and thought I would introduce myself. _Numele meu este_ Adrian." he had a great smile, but the force he was smiling at her with was disconcerting.

"Well, nice to meet you, um, Adrian, I'm Danielle." she fibbed with an uncomfortable smile. She wasn't an idiot, knowing that while she was technically there illegally she shouldn't tell anyone her real name.

"Ah, _frumos_ name Danielle." he smiled. Was it her or was he laying it on too thick? "Would you like to join me for lunch?" he reached out to touch her shoulder, but a gloved hand snatched Adrien's wrist and stopped it before it could reach its target.

"_Atingeți-o și muriți."_ Bucky sneered at the man. Adrien's face had paled and he snatched his hand back, scurrying backwards without another glance.

"What did you say?" she asked.

"I said if he touched you I'd kill him." he dropped the milk bottle into the basket.

"A little harsh." she winced, moving down the rest of the aisle to the next area.

"Do not trust anybody." he murmured, standing close to her. She shivered at his warm breath near her ear. Was he always this warm? Her body hummed with adrenaline and awareness as he glared down to where the man had been.

"Do you think he was someone that's after us?" she asked softly, edging away from him to get her mind off of unsavory actions.

"I don't think so. He backed down too easy. But next time we might not be so lucky." he came closer to her every time she tried to get further away. It was almost protective. No, scratch that, it _was_ protective. It felt good to know he actually cared about her. "Let's hurry and finish getting everything." his hand ghosted over the small of her back, steering her towards the home goods section of the store. She reached out for a pair of pillows, letting him touch one to test if it was alright.

"Should we get a quilt? Comforter? Weighted blanket?" she asked, running her hands over the options as she named them. He frowned at the choices.

"What exactly is the difference?" he glanced at her, confusion shining in his eyes.

"Okay we'll just get the quilt." she laughed, picking up the blanket and tucking it under her arm. "Ready?" she asked with a grin. He nodded, lightly touching his fingertips to her back again to guide her towards the checkout. He exchanged words with the cashier, who was _so_ obviously into him, and then they were off again.

"Do you think we should get milkshakes?" he asked as they walked towards the golden arches of McDonalds. She burst into laughter and nodded. How the hell could he be cute and hot at the same time? It wasn't alright. He held the bags and ordered as she pulled out the money, and he guided her through counting out the bills. She was sort of getting the hang of it, grinning proudly when she held up the correct amount. He chuckled and they waited quietly for their shakes.

"We never found a record player." she noted as they walked back to the apartment, sipping on their chocolate shakes. He laughed and pointed through a window.

"Think again, I spotted it on the way over." he coaxed her inside.

"How the hell are we going to _carry_ that, Buck?" she gaped at the thing. He shrugged, but she went along with it. Hell, she would buy him the world if he wanted it. Was she like, a sugar mama? Gross. He was older than her anyways, but still. Somehow they managed to carry the record player along with his secret selection of vinyl back into their humble abode, and she put the groceries away while he set up the player.

"Here we go!" he smirked, setting the needle down and stepping back. A slow crackle escaped before some smooth, fun jazz began to play.

"Oh, nice, I like it." she nodded along as he grinned. She rolled her eyes at his antics, but smiled when he turned to face her with an excited look. "What are you thinking for lunch?" She peered into the cupboards, thinking of what they'd just brought back from the store. "I can make some ham and cheese sandwiches. Mac and cheese too?"

"I'll have whatever you'll make me." He unfolded their new quilt, touching the edges to feel it. He nodded, satisfied apparently with how it felt. She went to work, pulling out the box of kraft and getting started on lunch. Bucky hummed along to the music as she prepped everything, coming over to steal a slice of cheese and then dancing away when she swatted at him. Once the quick meal was finished they sat at the rickety table, eating quietly. She studied him, with the classy music playing in the background he seemed happy. At home, even. There was something about the glimmer in his eyes, the half smirk he sported on his soft pink lips… stop it! Don't think about it!

"Um, so what's the plan for the rest of the day?" She cleared her throat, wiping her mouth with a strip of paper towel. She tried to keep her mind to safe topics.

"I figured we could just settle in together." He shrugged, using his thumb to wipe a crumb off of his plump bottom lip. She swallowed hard, following the motion.

"Sounds good." She said weakly. Could she please focus on something other than inappropriate desires? God she was disappointed in herself. He continued to hum along as he finished his food, then insisted on doing the dishes.

She should have done them herself.

Of course he had to roll up his sleeves and lean a cocked hip against the counter. She could see the muscles in his back flexing with his movement, and his pants fit snugly to his thighs, shifting as he went back and forth between the sink and dish rack. She was ogling so hard it was a miracle he hadn't noticed. At one point she decided to just close her eyes, focusing on anything but him. But of course even when she couldn't see him she was still thinking about him. The sound of his laugh, the way he talked, the way he said her name… she had it so bad for him she even loved his personality, which was really hard to do in the opposite sex for her.

"Hey, you ok?" She felt metal fingers brush her shoulder and she jumped three feet in the air, shrieking at the interruption. Bucky backed off, an alarmed look on his face with his hands held up in front of him. "I'm sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Is everything alright?" He peered into her face, waiting for an explanation.

"Y-yeah, I was just kinda, well, I guess I got distracted…" she trailed off, scratching the back of her neck. "Sorry for jumping so hard." She laughed meekly. He smiled, relieved, but his eyes were still troubled. Apparently he didn't quite believe her.

"You sure everything's fine?" She nodded vigorously, wishing he'd let it go so she could stop living through the embarrassment. "Alright then." He sat back down across from her, drumming his metal fingers on the table. "Do you want to play rummy?" He asked. She grinned.

"Oh I'm going to totally kick your _ass_ in rummy."

….

She lost miserably. It was almost embarrassing, she was negative when he got to 500 points.

"What happened to kicking my ass?" He teased as he put the deck of cards back. She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No comment." She answered with a pout. He laughed, a real laugh, his impressively straight teeth glinting in the light. She glanced at the clock, surprised at the time of day. It was almost dinner time.

"What do you say we go out to dinner to celebrate my win?" He stood, offering a hand to her. She rolled her eyes, gripping his palm as he pulled her up.

"I guess." She sighed with a frown. He laughed again, clearly amused by her attitude towards losing.

"I spotted a pub near here, it should be quiet enough that we won't draw any attention." He mentioned, picking up his leather jacket and sliding it over his shoulders. She somehow forced herself to stop looking at him like a piece of meat and grabbed her own jacket to put on, following him towards the door once he turned off the record player.

"You know, maybe I _want _some attention. Good attention." She replied. Don hadn't flirted in ages, and she was really feeling the urge to with this Adonis next to her all the time.

"Trust me, all attention right now is bad attention." He rolled his eyes at her.

"You're no fun." She crossed her arms, pouring as they walked down the rapidly darkening street. He didn't reply but they walked in a comfortable silence, not many people wandering around, most inside eating or drinking at this time. They made it to the pub, and of course she couldn't read the name, but Bucky helped her muddle her way through the menu. She got a dark ale and a burger, Bucky ordering the same thing but double.

"I didn't know you liked beer." His eyes glittered as she received her pint. She took a sip with a sneer.

"I like any and all alcohol. Please do not promote sexism by saying girls can't like beer." She retorted. He rolled his eyes, taking a swig from his own glass.

"You usually go for sweet things. Or things that taste like rubbing alcohol. I'm merely making an educated observation." Bucky raised his eyebrows, challenging her.

"Well, there's a lot of things you don't know about me." She shrugged. He squinted at her, the intense expression causing her heart to beat at double time.

"You're probably right. But I do know a lot of things about you." He pointed out.

"Oh yeah? Like what." She challenged. He grinned as if he'd hoped she'd say that.

"You used to like to party but have recently been burned out by it. You're very intelligent, but you're kind of a control freak and refuse to give up on a project until it's perfect. You love romance movies but you're very cynical about your own love life, and you hate history but you like telling me about all the things I missed while in cryo." He listed, counting on his fingers. He continued after a pause. "You're very insecure for some reason, though you're really quite striking. You don't share a lot of things with the people who are closest to you, like Karina and Janita, but you give them just enough of yourself that they stick around supportively. You love fast food but you don't like to get the same thing every time, and you love to try new things in different places. How'd I do?" He grinned, taking another sip of his beer. She blinked, a little shocked. She hadn't realized he'd known some of those things about her.

"Psychological analysis aside, I'm quite impressed." She cleared her throat, tracing a knot in the wooden table. He leaned forward, the dark maroon of the booth framing him in her peripheral. Her gaze was focused intensely on his bright blue eyes as they glimmered.

"I almost forgot. You're a very sore loser." He grinned, and she laughed.

"Okay well I'm good at other things besides rummy. I could probably destroy you in pool." She motioned towards the pool table across the room.

"After we eat, I'm taking you on." He grinned, apparently liking the challenge.

"Don't cry when you lose terribly this time. I may be a sore loser but I get the feeling you're even worse." A smirk played on her lips.

"Should we make a bet?" His eyes glinted dangerously. Her breath hitched in her throat and she covered her hiccup with another swig of her drink.

"Buck, honestly I'd say yes but you don't have a lick of anything to your name right now. I'm the one wearing the pants in this relationship." She replied teasingly, reminding him of the fact that she was the one paying for all of their adventures. His lips lifted into a sly grin.

"If money is all you're willing to bet on I guess we don't have to…" oh my god. Oh my god. Was he FLIRTING with her? Holy shit that's what it looked like to her. She felt her face get hot, but before she could even reply their food came out. She stuffed her face to avoid answering. A self satisfied smirk stayed on his face through their entire meal, and by the end she wanted to both curl up and die and drag him through the dirt.

"Okay come on show off, write down your bet. We won't show the other, but we'll see what each other's was when we win." She ripped a receipt in half and wrote down "chocolate shake" on hers, folding it and sticking it into her pocket. He took the pen and held that stupid smirk as he wrote his, folding it neatly and shoving it in his back pocket. She stood, clearing her throat, suddenly very nervous. "O-okay, lets go." She dragged herself to the pool table. He strode confidently behind her, nobody bothering to look at the pair.

"I hope you're prepared to lose." He picked up the cue ball, setting up the table. "I'll let you break."

"I've played pool a lot more recently than you have." She retorted, getting into position and sending the white ball flying with a loud crack. It hit the racked balls dead center and scattered them all across the table. A striped ball sunk into the corner with a thunk and she grinned. "Oh wow, looks like I get to go again." She turned to him. He rolled his eyes with a chuckle and leaned forward onto his stick, watching her intently. She felt a shiver run down her spine at the way his eyes roamed over her, but she leaned over the table anyways, maybe even arching her back a little bit to give him a good view of her ass. She managed to sink two more before it was his turn. If Donatella thought she was having a hard time focusing with his eyes on her, then she was flat out gone when she watched him. That strong jaw, his profile as he bent over the table, she damn near thought she'd died and gone to heaven. Of course his jeans stretched perfectly with his body, and his fitted jacket did not leave much of his physique to the imagination. And she did a lot of imagining.

"Your turn." He'd only sunk a few, so she was feeling confident at this point in the game. It was a close call a couple of times, with them having the same amount remaining, but she gained the lead and lined up her clean shot with the eight ball.

"Prepare to eat my shorts." She laughed.

"I don't know what that means." He admitted with a grin as she sunk the ball… as well as the cue ball.

"No!" She moaned dropping her stick and putting her head in her hands. "There's no way that just happened!" She'd lost. She absolutely flubbed it. "I was hoping for another milkshake!" She pouted, pulling out her scrap of paper. He fished around in his back pocket for a moment before handing his own paper to her. She unfolded it, reading the scrawled penmanship. She glanced up at him questioningly, but was unable to ask anything as his lips pressed against hers.

He was kissing her. Bucky was kissing her. She was frozen for a moment before her body relaxed, melting into his as she met his enthusiasm quickly. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her fingers tangled into his hair. She could taste the beer, but also something heady and spicy that she just knew was _him_. His tongue brushed against her bottom lip and she parted her lips for him, and they were fucking frenching against a pool table in Romania. Holy _fuck_. He pulled away and she panted, her breath completely gone in the face of this new and exciting prospect. Her arms slipped from around his neck, both papers somewhere on the floor, completely forgotten.

"You bet a kiss?" She breathed heavily, his eyes dark as he looked at her. He nodded.

"That one was for the bet. This one is because I want to." His gloved hands reached out for her, pulling her closer again and he kissed her again, and somehow this one was even hotter than the first. That spicy taste was more potent, his stubble scraping across her chin as his lips moved against hers, and his hands clutched her hips, pinning her against the pool table. She felt too hot already from just a _kiss_, god it was like she was a teenager making out for the first time again. She heard shouting from the bar and Bucky smiled against her lips, pulling away as she gasped for breath again. "They told us to get a room."

"Then let's go." She breathed out. He tugged her back towards their booth, and she slapped enough bills on the table to cover their meal before Bucky grabbed her hand, tugging her to the exit. They stumbled back to the apartment, grinning like idiots and stopping every so often to lock lips again. There was something about the way that he kissed her that made her never want to stop. She could do it for hours, no breaks in between or anything. When they finally made it back to their dingy building, he pulled the key out and unlocked the door while somehow still kissing her. He backed her in as the door opened behind her, and she quickly tugged them both inside. She fumbled for the door behind him, pressing herself against him before pinning him into the door, slamming it shut behind them. She had him pushed up against the door, her hands desperately tugging his jacket down over his shoulders.

She wanted to look at him, knowing his hair was pushed back in a highkey sexy way from her fingers, but to do so she'd have to stop kissing him, and that wasn't something she was willing to do. Once his jacket was on the floor somewhere she had control for all of two seconds before he'd spun them so she was pinned between him and the door. He locked the deadbolt decisively, the loud metallic clunk causing her body to shiver in anticipation. Her hands roamed up and down his back, pulling his shirt up and trying to yank it over his head. She hadn't noticed when her jacket fell to the floor, but it was suddenly gone and she was touching his bare skin. His hands were constantly moving, untucking her shirt and then roaming upwards, squeezing her hips and then down to her ass, gripping tightly everywhere they went.

He moved down to the backs of her thighs and lifted her in one quick move so she was completely supported by him, her back not even touching the wall as he began walking away from the door. She tightened her legs around his hips to support herself. Her own hands fluttered across his shoulders, cupped his strong jaw, raked through his hair, pressed against his back. She couldn't decide which part of him she wanted to be touching, she just knew she needed to feel as much of him as possible. He stumbled over his feet as he kicked his shoes off, and she managed to get hers off while still being held up in the air. He ran into the table and she laughed into their kiss, in return he grabbed her bottom lip between his teeth. She let out an embarrassingly loud moan as his hands slipped under her shirt, his cold metal hand felt white hot against her burning skin. His flesh hand splayed against her back, pressing her against him and keeping her propped up at the same time.

The cold metal moved upwards, cupping one breast through her bra. Another moan tore from her lips, and she let out a loud squeal when suddenly she fell from her height down to the mattress on the ground. She bounced once, gasping as he crawled over her, pressing her into the bed as he resumed their kiss. Both hands roamed her skin this time, moving up under her shirt to fumble with the clasp of her bra. She felt him back off of her, tugging her shirt over her head quickly and finishing his work with the bra. She was suddenly topless, but with the hungry way he was looking at her, she didn't feel embarrassed. She felt… hot. She could get this gorgeous man to look at her like _that?_ All swollen lips and hooded, sexy eyes, with that god-like body… shit she felt spoiled. His chest was heaving, and Donatella let her gaze roam down his chiseled chest, her hands reaching out to squeeze his arms and bring him back down to her. He kissed her again, but his mouth quickly trailed downwards, leaving little nips and licks down the sensitive flesh of her neck.

She moaned again once he reached the tops of her breasts, one of his hands reaching up to knead one as his hot mouth breathed over the other. His lips pressed downwards until they reached her nipple, and he circled it with his tongue before sucking it between his lips. She gasped out his name, arching her back to press herself closer to his mouth, her legs wrapping around his hips again. He groaned, and she just about melted at the sensation, her fingers digging into his hair and pressing his mouth onto her breast with more force. His lips and tongue worked her into a frenzy until his scraped his teeth over the sensitive skin to the other side, continuing his ministrations. Her head dropped back into the mattress as she moaned loudly, grinding her hips into his in an attempt to relieve some of the pressure that was building. Her whole body was on fire, the heart of the flames burning between her thighs in the most delicious way. She pushed any coherent thought aside as she nudged him to stop what he was doing.

He lifted his head, his hair falling over them. She unwrapped her thighs from their vice-like grip around him and moved to undo his belt. His hand latched onto her wrist, stopping her.

"Are you sure?" He rasped, and the words sent a shiver through her. She nodded, words escaping her at the moment, and immediately he snapped back into action. She fumbled with his belt buckle as he worked on unbuttoning her jeans. He pulled her zipper down quickly, and she managed to lift her hips so he could wiggle the tight jeans off her legs. She got his buckle undone soon after, and then they were both left in just underwear. Her eyes widened at the large bulge that laid heavy and thick against his thigh, but he didn't let her look for long as his lips crashed down against hers again. She felt a keening whine leave her body as his fingers dipped between her thighs, stroking against her clothed center. She felt undeniably turned on, and she knew he could tell too. "Shit." His voice was lower than she'd ever heard as he moved her underwear aside to press a finger between her lower lips. It was his flesh hand, and she ground against his hand hastily, wanting more of his touch. His finger trailed slowly against her until it met her clit, brushing softly against the bundle of nerves. She gasped embarrassingly loud at the feeling, and he did it again, causing more noises to fall from her lips into the quiet air between them.

Neither of them were really saying much, but then again, they didn't really have to. He had brought her roaring to life in a few short minutes, and she felt almost ready to come undone. When one of his fingers slipped into her, she clenched so hard around the digit she was scared he'd be unable to move. He groaned at the sensation and pumped it in and out of her heat, and she pressed her forehead against his shoulder, unable to think with the way she was feeling. When he curled his finger inside of her she was done for. She came with a gasp, her head dropping back to the mattress as her inner walls fluttered around his finger. He withdrew the digit and sucked his finger clean, keeping eye contact with her while she did it. Jesus Christ that was so dirty, she almost came again just by watching him do that. His hands moved down to her hips and slowly dragged her underwear down her still shaking legs before she gained the strength to reach up and grab the waistband of his. She tugged frantically until his underwear were around his knees, and he kicked off the last item of clothing before pressing himself against her and locking their lips once again.

She felt him laying thick and heavy across her entrance, and she gasped when he ground himself into her. She was so ready it wasn't even funny. She wrapped her legs around his hips again, and she could feel his strong thighs flexing. Honestly she could feel everything flexing, and it was sending her closer to the edge again with every sensation she was having. It was almost an overload of the senses, she couldn't keep track of it all. One hand would be on her breast, the other tracing below her navel to pleasure her, and his tongue would be teasing her with his taste as he ground himself into her. Combined with how his skin felt under her own fingers, she could barely focus on one thing. It was almost too much.

When he finally pushed his tip into her entrance, she slammed her head backwards with a low moan. He paused, kissing a sensitive spot behind her ear and circling her clit with his thumb. She raised her hips, trying to get him inside her faster, but his metal hand gripped her hip and held her down to the bed. He was torturously slow, inch by aching inch taking forever to fill her. She felt herself stretching until he was fully sheathed inside her.

He was a perfect fit, not too big but not leaving any empty space inside her. He gave a shallow thrust and she moaned, tightening her legs again. He let go of her hip in favor of grabbing her thigh, pressing it forwards and letting him thrust deeper. She gasped loudly as he rubbed against a sensitive spot inside her, and with a few more strokes she tipped over the edge again. Spots danced through her vision as she clenched around him, and he gritted his teeth, panting heavily. Her hands roamed across his chest, but his flesh hand darted out to grip both of her wrists together, and he pressed her arms above her head, successfully pinning her to the bed. She rolled her hips against him, and he moaned again before lengthening his thrusts. She gasped, angling herself so he would hit that same spot over and over again, and she was making it back to the edge in no time. _Fuck_ he was good, had he really not done this in seventy years? He had to have put more practice in, because there was no way he was getting her body to react like this with sheer luck.

"Bucky, I'm…" her next one was approaching, but she wasn't sure she could handle another after it. Her body was already much too sensitized from the two before this, and she could tell he was close with the way he was speeding up. He nodded and pressed his lips against hers again as he went fast and deep. She moaned loudly into his mouth, and he let go of her hands in order to grip her breast again. In a few pumps she was done, and her vision went completely black this time, her ears ringing. She felt Bucky finish and stop his movement, his body pressing hers into the mattress. His elbows held most of his weight above her, careful not to crush her.

"Holy shit." He muttered against her skin, slowly withdrawing and rolling off of her.

"You could say that again." She gasped, panting hard. "God, I'm sweaty, are you sweaty?" Don glanced over his glistening body and nearly swore at the sight. If she hadn't just had three orgasms she would probably have been turned on beyond belief at the sight.

"Are you okay?" He scrutinized her as she sat up.

"Yeah, my legs feel like jelly." Her breath left her body in a whoosh. "I have to use the bathroom, I'll be right back." She scooped his shirt off the floor and yanked it over her head. It fell to just above mid thigh on her, and she hobbled to the bathroom to pee and wash her face. When she came back out, Bucky had pulled his underwear back on and was laying on his side on top of the covers. His eyes were closed, but his breathing let her know he was still awake. She hopped on the mattress next to him, wiggling so she was under the covers. His flesh arm darted out to grip her waist and pull her into his chest. He was warm against her back, almost too warm, but it was worth it. She felt comfortable, safe, happy in his arms. His hand slipped beneath the shirt she wore, fingers splayed across her stomach and holding her to him tightly.

"Goodnight Donatella." He breathed in her ear. She shivered and snuggled closer to him.

"Goodnight Bucky."

**Y'all I wasn't sure if I should write in sex scenes for this story but I did it anyways. If you hate it don't sue me, but it felt more natural to write some in than leave them all out. **

**I also saw Endgame the other day, it was awesome and sad. Highly recommend seeing it. **

**ANOTHER NOTE: My Steve RogersxOC story is actually complete now if anyone is interested in reading it. I posted the final chapter on Saturday, it's on my profile and it hurts my heart to know that it's done. But we've all gotta move on sometimes, right? **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: Crazy in Love**

**This Chapter Contains Adult Themes**

They were in a bubble. A wonderful, happy, sex-filled bubble. It was as if they _were_ on a honeymoon. It was fun, she'd never felt so close to someone. Hell, she'd never been so happy. When she woke up the morning after they first did the deed, she was terrified he'd tell her everything was a mistake.

He did the opposite.

"Good morning sweetheart." He stretched, kissing the back of her neck and squeezing her to his chest. Her legs were tangled with his and she squirmed at the ticklish sensation of his hair on her shoulders.

"Good morning. You hungry?" She yawned, sitting up.

"Mmm. A little." She squeaked when he tugged her back down. She was flat on her back and he was suddenly above her, a sly smirk on his face. "But that can wait. There are more important things on my mind." His hungry gaze tore through her inhibitions quickly, and he'd given her possibly the best morning she'd ever had.

After she was quite sated for the time being, he swaggered into the kitchen and began making her breakfast. Eggs, toast, bacon, orange juice, hell he'd even brewed a pot of coffee. She was content to lounge in bed and watch him, her stomach growling, appetite sufficiently worked to its peak with all the energy they had burned. He stalked across the small kitchen in just his tight boxer briefs, and she was happy to know that her first hypothesis of how he'd look in them was correct, though her imagination hardly did him justice. The glinting silver metal of his arm intrigued her brain, while the rest of his physique distracted her body. He was the best of both worlds for her. With past lovers she'd have to choose between the science and the sex, but with him she would always be straddling that line.

And straddle she did. After a whole day of holing up in the apartment with him, she was sufficiently too sore to go at it at the rate they had been. Of course he was more than accommodating, fucking her slowly, softly when she could hardly take the stimulation anymore. After one particularly rousing session against the countertop just after lunch, he'd had some sort of revelation.

"Oh my god. We haven't been using protection." Bucky collapsed into the kitchen chair, naked as the day he was born.

"It's okay, I have an implant." She dismissed his concerns.

"A what?" His brow furrowed. She explained the concept of an IUD to him, but let him know that they could use condoms as well if it would make him feel better. The smirk he'd given her caused her to shiver in anticipation.

"What?" She asked at the lecherous grin.

"I think not using them would make me feel a hell of a lot better than you'd think." And they were at it again. She thought after the first five times she'd get bored, or at least desensitized to his touch. But somehow it got better every time, to the point where it almost hurt not to be touching him.

The third day of their sexual escapades was the first time they decided to leave the apartment, if only to get dinner and buy groceries.

"So, what are we?" She asked as they slid into a booth in the pub they went to the first night they got together. After putting their food away, they went out for a bite.

"What do you mean?" He frowned at the menu. Her breath stuttered in her throat before she could decide what to say. What if he just wanted to be fuck buddies? She wasn't ready for a friends with benefits type of situation with a man she was half in love with.

"I-I mean, what are we doing?" She swallowed, hard. "With us? With our… relationship?" Suddenly very nervous, she took a huge swig of her ale.

"Donatella. I care about you. A lot." His blue eyes shone sincerely, and she relaxed at the tone he used. He seemed happy, and very open with her. "I want to be with you. It's not…" he struggled to find a word. "Conventional. We started this all off in a very confusing way…"

"Yeah, you could say that." She laughed easily. "So what exactly are you proposing?"

"I think we should be… steady with each other." He gave her the best term he could think of.

"So you want to be my person." Donatella smiled, heart fluttering.

"Your person?" He asked, seeming a bit confused.

"Yeah, my boyfriend, my lover, my significant other…" she gestured loosely at him. "My person." A slow grin broke out over his face.

"You're my person." He reached out, tugging a strand of her hair. She smiled back at him, leaning forward. The same waitress from the other day came to take their food orders, and they both smiled secretly at each other. He was her person now. Damn she could scream how happy she was through the whole bar. After their meal, she noticed that a karaoke stand was set up, and an old man climbed onto the makeshift stage to croon a broken English rendition of a Prince song.

"I love this song." She grinned to Bucky, and he rolled his eyes.

"It's terrible. It's so… new." He scoffed. She nearly spit out her drink when she laughed.

"Bucky this song came out over twenty years ago." She revealed, and he shot her a glare.

"I was born over eighty years ago." He retorted.

"Okay old man, keep it down." She joked, waving him to be quiet. "I love eighties music." She sighed happily.

"Get up there then." He nudged her. "Sing me an old song."

"God no! You know how bad of a singer I am." Don laughed, nudging him right back. "Besides, I thought we were supposed to lay low?"

"Nobody of importance is gonna think twice about a drunk woman singing in a bar." He deadpanned, taking another sip of his beer. She hesitated before slamming the rest of her drink down, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand before rushing up to the stage. She selected "One Way or Another" by Blondie. Technically it came out in the seventies, but as long as it was before she was born she didn't really care.

"_This one goes out to my person."_ She announced into her mic, speaking in Italian to hopefully throw Bucky off. But by the way he smirked at her, she realized the damn man could speak Italian. That little son of a- her thought process cut off while the song began, and she belted it out, giving the best performance of her life. It was _fun_, so much more fun than she thought it would be. The way he looked at her from the back of the bar, the way his eyes followed her, she felt confident, sexy, and she gave it all she had, and thought that as soon as she was done she was going to whisk him back to their bed and have her way with him. The rush she felt would hopefully carry her confidence into the sack. When her song finished she stumbled off the stage laughing, a smattering of weak applause going through the bar. She knew she wasn't good, but as long as she had fun she really didn't care. She practically skipped towards Bucky with a large grin.

"Bravo." he lightly clapped his gloved hands together. She leaned over him, brushing her lips over the shell of his ear.

"_What do you say we get out of here_?" she breathed in Italian, nearly straddling him in the booth, and one of his hands gripped the outside of her thigh. He squeezed, hard, and she stepped back so he could stand, his lips ghosting over hers. She stumbled backwards with a grin, tugging him by the lapels of his jacket. He smirked, spinning her around and nudging her out of the pub. She laughed loudly in the dark empty streets. He shushed her with a chuckle, but she turned with a grin and pressed him up against the brick wall of a closed building. Her lips pressed against his, and she pushed herself closer, her arms wrapping around his neck as she whimpered with pleasure. His tongue slipped between her lips, his hands roaming to her waist and gripping tightly. She shivered at the touch, and he pulled away panting.

"Let's hurry back." he nudged her back again, and they rushed home, pausing for a heavy pet down once more before they made it back. Once again they struggled to get the door open without having to stop touching each other, their lips frantic against each other. Donatella kissed her way down his sharp jaw down his neck, and he groaned, finally unlocking the door and pushing it open. She spun them around so she was the one leading them and she kicked the door shut behind her. She pushed away from him for a moment, shucking her jacket and her sweater as he quickly did the same. Once her shoes were off, she pressed her lips against his again. She managed to shimmy out of her pants while guiding him backwards towards the bed, and his fingers deftly unhooked her bra, nearly tearing it off of her.

She shoved him onto his back, causing his eyes to widen with surprise as he fell onto the bed. Their normal roles had been reversed. His golden skin shone in the moonlight, his piercing blue eyes peered up at her through long dark lashes. God, he was beautiful. She crawled on top of him, straddling his hips and grinding down as she pressed kisses to his neck. He gave a low moan, moving his hips in tandem with hers. Donatella peppered kisses down his chest, licking her way down his body. She pressed a soft kiss just under his navel, and he groaned, reaching down to yank her back up, capturing her lips in a forceful kiss. Her chest slid against his, and she gasped at the sensation of his hard, thick body beneath hers. She ground against him again, sliding her tongue against his to capture his taste. It was kind of sloppy, she had to admit, but her blood roared in her ears at being the one on top, the one in control. She lifted herself off of him for a moment to rid them of their underwear before settling back on top of him. She lined him up with her entrance and deftly slid him inside of her.

That night she kept the control, she held her own fate in her hands for the first time since she'd met him. No, for the first time in her life she was branching out and holding her own. No fail-safes, not depending on anyone to get her where she wanted to go. No, she was in charge. She led him over the edge. She was exactly where she belonged.

But of course she was bound to lose that control.

The next morning she turned on the radio, Bucky liked listening to the news to keep tabs in case anyone was looking for them. So far, there had been nothing. But when he paled and turned the volume up, she knew something was very, very wrong.

"Pack your stuff. Now." he said roughly. She fumbled with the dish she had been washing.

"Wh-what? Why, what's wrong?" she set it down, wiping her hands on a dry cloth.

"There's been… a bombing. Early this morning. They're saying I did it." he revealed, grabbing his pack of clothes and slinging it over his shoulder. He was dressed in his red henley, which would not be great for blending in, but they didn't have any time to change. She slipped on a pair of pants, but left her lavender t-shirt as it was, slipping her parka on.

"Well, it wasn't you. I know it wasn't you, there's no way the charge could hold up in court. You have an eyewitness." she shook her head, zipping up her duffel and tightening the strap across her body. He shook his head.

"Your word won't hold up against them. They'll probably say I brainwashed you. Or…. even think you were an accomplice." he swallowed, hard. "Our best chance is to run until we can't anymore." he walked up to her, placing his hand against her cheek. "I promise I'm going to keep you safe. Okay?" she nodded, leaning into his touch. His head snapped up, and he rushed to pull her to the back wall, pressing them against it as the door opened. She heard it lock, and someone stepped out, going right past them towards the kitchen. Bucky held his finger to his lips, but made no motion that signified the person was a threat. It was a man, as tall and big as Bucky, wearing a deep blue suit with a matching helmet.

He held a shield in his left hand, and she almost sagged in relief when she realized it was Captain America. The man who was trying to _help_ Bucky. Probably one of the only other people on his side. She tried to step forward to greet him in relief, but Bucky pulled her back into the bathroom, holding them behind the door as the Captain glanced over the bed. He turned back around, picking up Bucky's journal. He flipped through a few pages, and Bucky quietly stepped forward, approaching him from behind. She stayed close behind him, peeking out to see what would happen. She gripped his hand tightly, nervous for what would happen next. There was a muffled sound of some sort of comms system that she heard from the Captain's direction.

"Understood." he replied to the mystery voice. Understood what? What was happening, was he apprehending them alone? Was he taking them in? She didn't have much more time to ponder, as the Captain turned to face them at last. "You know me?" he asked Bucky, setting the book on the table and giving her a wary, confused glance. His eyes flickered over their intertwined hands, and she pressed herself closer into Bucky's side.

"You're Steve." Bucky answered quietly. The Captain seemed to lose some tension when he said that. "I read about you in a museum." Bucky glanced down. Don frowned, she knew that Bucky remembered some things about him. But… maybe he didn't want to give Steve any false hope. The Captain slowly took a step towards them, and she squeezed his hand, hoping to keep him calm.

"I know you're nervous." the Captain glanced at her again, but she knew he wasn't addressing her. "You have plenty of reason to be." Steve sighed at Bucky, but stopped a safe distance. "But you're lying." he accused, and Bucky tensed, his fingers gripping hers much harder than a moment ago. She wiggled her hand and he loosened the grip, but his jaw stayed clenched.

"I wasn't in Vienna. I don't do that anymore." he pursed his lips, challenging his old friend to not believe him. She heard the tinny voice from Steve's headset again, and he glanced towards the covered window warily.

"Well the people who think you did are coming here now." Steve stepped forward again with his warning. She bit her lip, looking up to Bucky with dread pooling in her stomach. _How close_? She wanted to ask. _How long before she lost everything_? "They're not planning on taking you alive." once again, his eyes fell on her, pity in his gaze. Was she going to die? Honestly, if they killed Bucky… it was pathetic, but she wouldn't want to live in a world where he didn't exist. She depended too strongly on him now.

"That's smart." Bucky gave a sharp nod. "Good strategy." his lips parted as he took in a nervous breath, footsteps now on the ceiling. A whimper bubbled in her throat, but she strangled it down, keeping as quiet as possible. She heard more people climbing the staircase, and she swallowed hard.

"This doesn't have to end in a fight, Buck." Steve pleaded. Bucky let go of her hand, shaking his head as he reached to take off his gloves. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized she was really done for in this moment.

"It always ends in a fight." he sighed, dropping the gloves and turning to face her. A soft smile grazed his features, but he dropped it quickly.

"You pulled me from the river." Steve no longer attempted to be quiet. "Why?" his eyes demanded answers. He pleaded with his friend, and even though she knew she was probably going to get torn to pieces in the fray in a few minutes, she pitied the Captain for not being able to have the one person who mattered most to him.

"I don't know." Bucky revealed, and she frowned, knowing what he was doing. He wasn't going to budge with him. He couldn't bear to disappoint Steve with who he had become.

"Yes you do." Steve challenged, and they held eye contact for a millisecond before the window broke, something round flying in. The two men turned towards the object, and Steve batted it away with his shield, a flash bang exploding against the wall. Some sort of pipe bomb fell into the apartment next, and she felt like everything moved in slow motion. She tried moving backwards, but it was delayed. Bucky's actions were much quicker, he kicked the object towards Steve and the Captain flipped his shield over, blocking the blast with the surprisingly tough shield. Bucky knocked her to the ground as something began to bang against the door, and he flipped the mattress up as cover as something blasted the windows in.

"Stay close!" he ordered, flipping the table across the room, causing it to wedge in front of the door in a makeshift barricade. She scrambled to her feet as two soldiers swung in through the broken windows. Bucky went to work taking one down, and Steve managed to knock the other one to the ground without harming him. She jumped out of the way of any fighting, confused as to which side Steve was on when the soldier he was supposed to be covering started shooting. Bucky knocked her behind his body, striding forwards and making quick work of knocking out the special forces soldier. The balcony door broke open and her mouth dried, she scrambled to get out of the line of fire. Steve ripped the gun out of the man's hands, but Bucky came forward and knocked him out.

"Bucky, stop!" Steve commanded, and he whirled on his old friend. "You're gonna kill someone!" he warned, and Bucky knocked him to the ground, breaking his hand through the floorboards to pull a bag she'd never seen out.

"I'm not gonna kill anyone." he replied, standing and tossing the bag out the breached balcony door. She jumped as she heard gunshots from a new shooter, and Bucky leaped in front of her, shielding her with his arm. Steve quickly took over, pushing her behind his signature shield, but Bucky used his friend as a projectile, tossing Steve into the gunman and knocking both of them outside. Another soldier appeared, and Bucky held his palm straight out, stopping each shot as he approached. He used his arm to knock the man into their shelves, but the man didn't stay down. She shrieked as he got up, but Bucky grabbed a cinderblock and smashed the soldier into the bathroom, where he crumpled and didn't get up.

She jumped three feet in the air when loud gunshots came from outside the door, and her mouth dried when she realized they were shooting their way in. Bucky, however, didn't let them get the chance, as he strode forward and punched directly through the door, knocking at least one person back. He broke the rest of the door down, and she kept a safe distance as he knocked the special forces out on the other side. A man broke through the skylight in the stairwell, firing at Bucky, but it took him only a few seconds to take that one out too. She jumped into the hallway, pressing herself into the corner behind Bucky as he grabbed the battering ram and wielded it like some brass knuckles or something, taking down anyone who came at him with one blow. Bucky glared down the stairwell, seeing more people coming, and he turned to her with a frown.

"Jump on my back now." he ordered, and she did as he asked, not daring to ask any questions. The situation seemed more of an act now or you'll die sort of thing, so as soon as she was secured piggyback, he jumped onto the man who had rappeled down earlier and used his rig to swing down a flight. He dropped on a few men, successfully taking them out, and she scrambled off him. When one soldier grabbed her arm she shrieked, elbowing him in the face. He fell back, clutching his nose with a wail, and Bucky gave her a small ghost of a smirk before his attention was taken by three more men attacking him. Steve dropped down next to him, and when Bucky tossed a man over the side of the stairs, he reached out and plucked him from the air like he was a pillow. He held him up and gave his old friend an exasperated look.

"Come on, man." he chastised him, tossing the soldier into the wall as Bucky gave a nonchalant look before knocking another soldier upside the head. Bucky turned to her, not even using words this time as he somehow tucked her under his arm and grabbed the railing, ripping half of it out of the ground and using it to swing down another level like tarzan. He used both feet to knock another soldier through a door and leapt into the hopefully abandoned apartment. Jumping back out, he kept her tucked under his arm, fighting with his metal arm as he held her close to him. She could sense that the position was working for him, as the soldiers were confused as to what role she played and were hesitant to land a blow on him lest they hurt her. After cracking a few skulls, he looked up to Steve, whose shield was stuck in the wall a floor above. Bucky then approached the railing and looked down.

"Bucky, don't you dare ju-" her warning cut off in a scream as he vaulted over the edge. They gained way too much speed way too fast, and her arms wrapped around his neck tighter than she'd ever had to hold on to anything in her life. Bucky let out a cry of pain when he halted their descent by grabbing onto another portion of railing, much further down than they'd been before. She thought she was going to throw up, and he tossed her onto the landing before climbing over the railing next to her. "Never fucking do that again." she wheezed, bending over with her hands on her knees.

"I'm sorry." he sighed, picking her up with both arms and making her wrap her arms and legs around him.

"What the fuck-" she was cut off again as he kicked down a door.

"Hang on tight." he warned before taking off down the hallway and out the balcony door. They were in yet another free-fall, and she was too terrified to even breathe. He braced her safely in his arms before landing onto the building next to their dingy apartment complex, tucking and rolling across the roof. He righted them quickly, picking up the pack he'd thrown out the window before turning to her. "Follow close behind, try to keep up please." she nodded, and he began a dead sprint across the roof. They didn't make it far before she saw a shadow approaching Bucky, and she ducked with a scream as a man in a black catsuit tackled him to the ground. He had dropped his bag, so she picked it up and took cover behind an air return duct on the roof.

They exchanged blows, but the man in the cat costume had some deadly looking claws that caused her to bite down hard on her lip in fear. She tasted blood in her mouth, but couldn't stop gnawing on her lip as she watched the fight. She looked up as a helicopter approached, and ducked with a scream when it began to spray bullets over the rooftop. She felt one graze her shin, but she had to ignore it for the time being as she scrambled for better cover. Steve jogged up on the roof, and a man in some sort of bird suit contraption took the helicopter by its tail and swung it off into another direction. She scrambled backwards, tossing Bucky his bag as the man in the cat suit was distracted for a moment. She felt something grab her by the arms, two hands gripping her by the biceps and a scream tore from her throat as the bird suit man from before lifted her in the air. He must have been the one who was communicating with Steve before, as he spoke into his comms system.

"I've got the girl, I'm bringing her down away from the fight." he said, and she heard a tinny voice reply as she struggled to get free from his grasp.

"Bucky!" she screamed, and his head whipped up, eyes turning to steel as he saw her predicament. She thrashed in the guy's grip, but they gained height quickly, and she wasn't quite sure where she was anymore. He was zooming over the rooftoop and she saw the three men jump down, the cat chasing after Bucky, Steve following close behind. "Bring me back to Bucky!" Donatella shouted at the bird man.

"Shut up for a second, okay? We're trying to keep your boy safe." he retorted, and she went limp in his grip. "Hang on tight, we're going into that tunnel." he adjusted her so she could hang on around his neck, and she gripped on tightly as he banked downwards. She squeezed her eyes shut, but the crashing and crunching noises of vehicles made her stomach twist with worry. When the bird man jolted and cursed, she noticed that they had picked up a hitchhiker. She screamed as the cat guy clung to birdman's leg, and she kicked him in the head, dazing him for a moment as there was a large explosion ahead. Birdman stopped flying, his wings flapping out to halt them in thin air, and catman went flying through the explosion. Steve came tumbling out of a car and she lost sight of Bucky through the dust. "You know, having an extra set of legs could come in handy. Thanks for knocking a good one into kitty cat's head." he gently dropped to the ground, and she let go with a gasp, stumbling down onto her hands and knees.

"I fucking hate my life." she gasped, getting back up onto her feet shakily. The sirens had caught up to them, and they'd landed just on the other side of the explosion. She stumbled forwards on weak legs, walking through the settling dust to see Bucky getting forced to the ground. He stared blankly ahead and she felt a sob bubble in her throat.

"I'm Sam, by the way. You?" her somewhat savior asked.

"Donnie." she replied blankly as she watched Bucky get arrested. More soldiers surrounded them, nudging them at gunpoint towards the rest of the group. She felt numb. She didn't even feel her leg gushing blood, or her aching shoulder from their rooftop tumble, or the strain in her arms from being carried through the air. She didn't feel the wrenching motion of her hands being pulled behind her back, or the cold barrel of a gun against her side, or even the tears dripping down her face. All she could see was her failure, surrounded without a chance of escape. If Bucky didn't have to worry about her, if she was able to fight with him, maybe he would have been able to get out of this situation. Bucky was being tied up right in front of her and she couldn't do a fucking thing to help him.

"I'm sorry, Donnie. We failed." Sam said to her. She felt her lips quirk up into a humorless smile.

"No, you didn't. I did."

**So unfortunately it's finally time to get down to business. If anyone didn't realize yet, this story starts just before Captain America: Civil War, and so now we're finally getting to be introduced to some new characters. It's been mainly my own storyline so far, but now comes the challenge of making my OC fit into the MCU. Thanks for all the follows, favorites, and comments on this story so far! You guys are a dream. **

**Just a heads up, there will only be two more chapters after this one before the next phase of this story starts! I'll try to give an update in the last chapter of this story as to when the first chapter of the next part will be up. I'll be posting it separately on my page, so make sure to keep an eye out for it, and if you want to be notified when I post the next story/even the next chapter of this book, make sure to follow me and this story! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: Stronger**

"So, you like cats?" Sam asked the man in the catsuit. His helmet had been taken off, revealing a handsome, yet stern face beneath.

"Sam." Steve said as a warning. His friend shot him a look, sighing in annoyance.

"What? Dude shows up dressed as a cat and you don't wanna know more?" he retorted. Steve pursed his lips sternly, not looking at Sam.

"I'd like to know." Don shot a glare at the man, angry at him for his hand in her own destruction. The regal man didn't even glance at her, only looking straight at the wall.

"Your suit… it's vibranium?" Steve asked, and Donnie's eyes widened, looking over the black material. The mysterious metallic protection that could harness kinetic energy and repurpose it… She'd only heard of it, it was so rare she never thought she'd have a chance to even get a glance up close. But here was a man wearing full body armor made of that so-called rare metal, and an uneasy suspicion settled in her gut.

"The Black Panther has been the protector of Wakanda for generations. A mantle, passed from warrior to warrior. And now, because your friend murdered my father, I also wear the mantle of king. So I ask you, as both warrior and king, how long do you think you can keep your friend safe from me?" his cool tone chilled her to the bone, and Donnie bit down hard on her lip.

"You're all idiots. We were in Bucharest the whole time, how on earth could Bucky have been in Vienna to kill your father?" she sneered at the group of men. Steve looked uncomfortable, shifting his eyes between her and Sam as he thought of what to say.

"Listen, I don't know who you are, or how much you know about Bucky…" he trailed off. She rolled her eyes and leaned back onto her bound hands.

"More than the lot of you do. He wasn't. In. Vienna." she spat. Sam eyed her warily.

"Look, your boy has a condition where he isn't himself all the time." Sam revealed to her, and she scowled.

"I know who he is. I know about the Winter Soldier. And I'm telling you, he was with me the whole time. Nobody came and brainwashed him. Why won't you all believe me?" She pleaded. Sam and Steve made alarmed eye contact, while the Black Panther sat quietly.

"And what is your word worth?" the king of Wakanda asked calmly. She opened her mouth to retort, but paused, leaning back.

"Absolutely nothing." she laughed hollowly, closing her eyes.

Was this it for her? Would she spend the rest of her life in prison because no one believed her? When they were let out, she stumbled as she jumped out of the van. Steve reached out to steady her, but she wrenched herself out of his grip.

"Don't _touch_ me." she snarled. His eyes flashed with disappointment, and she felt bad for a minute before she remembered that he was one of the reasons Bucky got caught. Sure, he'd been trying to help, but… he should have just left them alone. Her eyes immediately found Bucky, who glared down at the ground as he was escorted by six different soldiers. Her heart wrenched at his expression. He looked… defeated. They were led inside of some sort of gray bunker, and they were led into a meeting room, not a jail cell, to her surprise. But Bucky wasn't there. Her cuffs were taken off, and she rubbed the red marks on her wrists, wincing at the sore skin.

"You remind me of someone. Someone a lot smarter that I met at a biomechanics in medicine conference two years ago in Napa." she heard an easygoing voice appear behind her and winced as she realized who it was.

"Mr. Stark." she lowered her head, partly in shame and partly because she didn't want this extremely powerful genius to see her when she was down.

"Donatella, was it? I'm confused as to how you are now an accomplice to an ex-HYDRA assassin who is under government scrutiny for blowing up the accords meeting." the billionaire leaned towards her with his arms crossed, and she pursed her lips before replying.

"Tony, was it?" she decided to cut the shameful act and speak her mind. "With all due respect, you've got falsified information. As a key witness to Mr. Barnes' whereabouts during the bombing in Vienna, I'm appalled that no one has attempted to take my statement yet." she met his eyes fiercely, and something sparked as he uncrossed his arms.

"There's the spitfire I know. Can somebody tell me what the hell is going on? I don't take too kindly to being left in the dark." he called to the rest of the people watching. "Miss Belluci was in the top of her class at MIT and on the fast track to graduate with a double MD and PhD from NYC School of Medicine. I'd like to know why she's here and not being shipped back to finish those endeavors." Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Because of her parents." a new woman spoke up, stepping forward. She was blonde, tall, graceful, and had a certain air about her that made Donatella not want to mess with her.

"Elaborate?" Tony gestured to her, crossing his arms once more.

"Because my parents were HYDRA." Donatella pursed her lips. The blonde gave her a once-over before nodding.

"You have an undeniable link to Barnes. We need to research the situation fully before you can be released back into the public." she replied with a sharp look towards Tony.

"Ties to HYDRA?" Steve's spine stiffened, and the rest of the room looked uncomfortable. A redhead looked at her with pity.

"I'm not worried." Donatella laughed bitterly. "The only reason I found out was because of Bucky. You must have realized that they abandoned me when I was only ten." she shook her head in disbelief at her situation. The air turned stale as people averted their gazes, obviously feeling sorry for her. She glanced towards a screen and stared at it as a conversation started between Steve and Tony. She winced internally at the quarrel.

She stiffened once she really began to focus on what was going on on the other side of the screen. Bucky was in a glass reinforced box. He was just… sitting there, staring blankly ahead. It stung, knowing that he wasn't seeking her out at this time. She hesitantly stepped closer to the screen as a man entered the room, sitting down. This must be his evaluation. The man began to speak to Bucky, and she saw the blonde press a button and the conversation began to fill the room.

"_I'm not here to judge you. I just want to ask you a few questions."_ she did not like this man. Not one bit. The way he was talking to Bucky was just off. "_Do you know where you are, James?"_ she hated that he called him James. "_I can't help you if you don't talk to me, James._"

"_My name is Bucky_." she sighed in relief at the sound of his voice. It was cold, menacing, but it was him nonetheless.

"Why would the task force release this photo in the first place?" Steve tossed the photographs that were apparently Bucky after the bombing. Donatella looked away from the screen to focus on him. She knew they weren't right. They were him, but he was nowhere near Vienna.

"Get the word out, involve as many eyes as we can?" the blonde sighed, shaking her head.

"Right." Steve nodded, staring intently at her. "It's a good way to flush a guy out of hiding. Set off a bomb, get your picture taken. You've got seven billion people looking for the Winter Soldier."

"You're saying someone framed him to find him." the blonde's eyes were alert. Donatella straightened, completely intrigued by the way the conversation was going. They were finally getting it.

"Steve, we looked for the guys for two years and found nothing." Sam sighed, shaking his head.

"Obviously not hard enough. I wasn't even looking when I found him." Donnie muttered. The group ignored her comment.

"We didn't bomb the UN." Steve gave him a conspiratory look. Don pursed her lips, what he was saying made a lot of sense. Bucky had to have been framed. "That turns a lot of heads." Steve glanced at the blonde again.

"Yeah, but that doesn't guarantee that whoever framed him would get him, it guarantees that we would…" she glanced down at the evaluator, her eyes widening for a moment before narrowing.

"Yeah." Steve looked up to the screen as well.

"Who is the evaluator?" Donnie asked suspiciously, but no one answered her question. There was something off about him, she couldn't put her finger on it, but… She knew it wasn't right.

"_Tell me, Bucky, you've seen a great deal, haven't you?"_ the evaluator questioned. She had goosebumps. She slowly was realizing that this man was bad, very bad.

"_I don't wanna talk about it."_ Bucky deadpanned, his voice hoarse. His eyes were alert on the evaluator, and she knew that he sensed the distrust for the man too.

"_You fear that, if you open your mouth, the horrors might never stop." _the evaluator glanced down at a screen that was blocked by his body, but her body tensed nonetheless. What was he doing? "_Don't worry. We only have to talk about one."_ the lights went out, and they lost power to the screens that were showing them the evaluation.

"What's going on?" Donnie demanded as she whirled on the rest of the group. They looked ready for action.

"Sublevel five, east wing." the blonde said to Steve, and he nodded before he and Sam bolted from the room. She quickly followed, the blonde doing nothing to stop her. She took that as a good sign, but kept a safe distance behind the two men, not wanting them to know she was coming along. The safety lights made her dizzy, but she managed to make it to sublevel five and followed the two to the east wing.

"Help me." a weak voice called ahead, and Don jolted back from checking the pulse of a guard on the ground. He was there, but just barely. Steve rushed forwards towards the evaluator, who was in the room that they had watched on the screens. "Help." he moaned out again as Steve reached him.

"Get up." he commanded, and she crept closer. The man on the floor glanced away, but Steve grabbed him by his jacket and forced him up, shoving him against the wall. "Who are you? What do you want?" the man hesitated before answering.

"To see an empire fall." he answered with a smirk, and Sam began to enter the room. A metal fist swung, hitting the concrete wall and busting it open. Sam ducked and tried to take Bucky on. No, it wasn't Bucky. It was the Winter Soldier. She shivered, stumbling back as the Winter Soldier picked up Sam and threw him at the cage he had once been held in. Sam was down for the count. She rushed forward to check on the man. He was nice to her, and she had to make sure he was okay.

"Donatella what are you _doing_ here?" Steve roared as he ducked a swing from the metal fist.

"Oh, I thought this would be a fun way to spend my evening!" she snarled sarcastically as she checked Sam's pupils. Not concussed, and he was alreadys stirring. She looked back to the fight, seeing Steve punch Bucky _hard_ in the face, but it barely phased the soldier, and he retaliated with a kick to Steve's sternum, causing him to fall onto his back. He got up quickly, fending off the Winter Soldier's advances until he was backed into the elevator doors at the end of the room.

Don scrambled to her feet, rushing towards the pair, needing to do _something_. No matter what, this was Bucky, and she'd never forgive herself if she let something happen to him. She winced when Bucky punched straight through the metal doors beside Steve's head. Steve caught the next punch, and Bucky struggled to pull back from his old friend's grip. She hesitated before picking up an abandoned stun gun from a guard's belt. Suddenly, Bucky smashed the elevator doors open using Steve, and threw him down the shaft. Bucky looked down before heading for the stairwell, Donnie hot on his heels.

He was fast. Bucky made it to ground level a floor ahead of her, and by the time she burst out of the stairwell he was exchanging blows with T'Challa. What she needed was to get up there and get him to calm down. She raced after them on the mezzanine floor, cursing when Bucky was tossed over the edge by T'Challa. She raced back down, following him through a back hallway that nobody else had noticed them go through. They were on a helicopter pad.

"Bucky stop!" she shouted, rushing up behind him. He paused, whirling on her. His eyes squinted, but there was no recognition. "It's me, it's Donnie. Do you remember?" she panted, her hands raised non threateningly, the stun gun tucked in her waistband. He gave her a once over, looking confused. "Remember Bucharest? Remember the apartment?" she pleaded. He furrowed his eyebrows, but seemed to make the ultimate decision that she was wasting his time. She swore, pulling out the gun and activating it, the electrodes attaching to him. He convulsed for all of three seconds before he snapped the wires, stopping the current, and he whirled on her. "Fuck, that was supposed to work." she tossed the gun aside and stumbled backwards. He was going to kill her. Honestly? If it was him, she would accept it. He made it to her quickly, swinging for her. It felt like slow motion, his flesh hand coming towards her, and she raised her arms protectively. She maintained eye contact, and there was _something_ there. He recognized her. For a brief moment, he recognized her. "I love you." she whispered to her Bucky quickly as his hand met her side, sending her tumbling over the side of the helipad. He rushed to the edge, watching her with an unreadable expression as she fell down. She thought she would meet her untimely death splattered across concrete. When she hit the reservoir, she gasped, lungs filling with water. Then everything went dark.

…

Donatella groaned when she woke up. She felt waterlogged and mushy.

"You ok?" she heard a voice ask. Don rolled her head towards the noise. She was laying on hard concrete, and Sam was sitting next to her.

"Where's Bucky?" she mumbled, sitting up with a wince. "Oh god I think my ribs are bruised." she groaned, grabbing her side. "Oh shit, did you give me mouth to mouth?"

"Your boy is right over here for now." Sam gestured towards Bucky, who was sitting upright with his metal arm in a literal vice. "And I did nothing, that's a conversation you'll have to have with Steve."

"Is he okay?" she scrambled to her feet. "What happened?"

"The man tossed you off a building and you're not even mad about it?" Sam scoffed. "You've got a real ride or die vibe going on."

"It wasn't him." she shot him a look. "You know that. If you thought otherwise, you wouldn't be here right now."

"Perceptive." he nodded with a chuckle. "Yeah, Buck over here is seriously disturbed. But Steve cares about him. And I guess you do too." he sighed. "I'm not about to let him take the heat on this one."

"Thank you." she smiled softly. "Thank you for being on our side." she whirled to watch as Bucky began to stir.

"Hey, Cap!" Sam called, and Steve appeared, giving her a small smile before walking up to his old friend. Her heart ached, and she hid in the shadows of the room, behind Bucky's eyeline, letting them have some time alone. God knows they deserved it after this ordeal.

"Steve." Bucky grunted, gripping his arm with a gasp of pain. She winced, wanting to go forward to comfort him. She knew it was him, it was her Bucky, the Winter Soldier banished for now. And it hurt to know that his programming could take him away from her in a flash again.

"Which Bucky am I talking to?" Steve asked menacingly, not showing any weakness. She could understand his suspicion. The man had just fought with him, after all.

"Your mom's name was Sarah." Bucky recalled, his tone almost wistful. "You used to wear newspapers in your shoes." he chuckled weakly, his voice rasping with disuse.

"Can't read that in a museum." Steve commented. Sam shot him a look.

"Just like that, we're supposed to be cool?" he sounded frustrated. It must have been hard on him. Don could tell they were close, he was Steve's present, but Bucky was his past. She would be jealous too if she were Sam. It was impressive that he was mature enough to even be helping.

"What did I do?" Bucky sounded defeated, and she bit her lip, her eyes welling up. His worst nightmare was becoming the Winter Soldier. And the worst nightmares are the ones you can't control.

"Enough." Steve sighed.

"Oh, god, I knew this would happen." Bucky whispered, lowering his head. "Everything HYDRA put inside me is still there." he shook his head, letting out a hollow laugh. "All he had to do was say the goddamn words."

"Who was he?" Steve demanded, keeping his cool.

"I don't know." Bucky admitted.

"People are dead. The bombing, the setup. The doctor did all of that just to get ten minutes alone with you. I need you to do better than "I don't know."" Steve sounded like he was pleading with him. Bucky paused, looking pensive. He was trying to remember, she realized.

"He wanted to know more about Siberia. Where I was kept. He wanted to know exactly where." Bucky revealed, looking confused.

"Why would he need to know that?" Steve asked, looking just as uncomfortable as Bucky did.

"Because I'm not the only Winter Soldier." her veins turned to ice at his words. He wasn't the only one? He was… oh god. She felt sick. They could barely contain one Winter Soldier, and the man was going after who knows how many more. This could be the end. Steve helped him get his arm out of the vice and Bucky leaned forwards. Don shrunk back into the wall, keeping herself hidden.

"Who were they?" Steve leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Their most elite death squad." Bucky sighed. "More kills than anyone in HYDRA history. And that was before the serum."

"They all turn out like you?" Sam nodded towards him.

"Worse." Bucky deadpanned.

"The doctor, could he control them?" Steve asked.

"Enough." Bucky looked down, clearly not comfortable with what he was disclosing. It must have been terrible there.

"Said he wanted to see an empire fall." Steve revealed. Bucky winced.

"With these guys he could do it. The can speak thirty languages, hide in plain sight, infiltrate, assassinate, destabilize, they can take a whole country down in one night." he listed, shaking his head in disbelief. "You'd never see them coming." Sam walked over and murmured to Steve as Bucky hung his head. They finished their conversation, coming to a conclusion they both seemed satisfied with. Bucky's head shot up. "I… when I was the soldier, I… Donatella, is she...?"

"Right here." Sam nodded to her hiding place. Bucky leaped up, turning to see her as she stepped out from the shadows.

"Hey Buck." she smiled weakly. He crossed the room in long strides, holding her by the shoulders and looking her over.

"You're okay?" he asked, worry in his blue eyes. She reached up with a grin, pushing his hair out of his face.

"My pride is a bit bruised, I couldn't even take you down with a stun gun. Apparently your arm is not conductive." she rapped her knuckles against the metal. "How do you feel?"

"I threw you off a building, and all you care about is how _I'm_ doing?" he sighed, frustration clear in his tone.

"Hey. It's okay, I'm fine. Nothing time won't heal." she shook her head, soothing him.

"So you did get hurt?" his eyes flashed over her frame again.

"_No!"_ she groaned. "I'm completely fine. Bruised ribs and a little cut on my leg, but I'm fine! I've had worse falling down the stairs in my own home." Don sighed.

"Donatella…" he pursed his lips, eyes meeting hers intensely. "You said something. On the helipad."

"O-oh, yeah, that…" she chuckled nervously, not quite knowing what he was going to say next.

"Did you mean it?" he asked quietly, lowering his face closer to hers. She smiled softly, barely nodding.

"Course I did, wonder boy. It's always gonna be you." she whispered. His mouth barely quirked into a smile, and he pressed a kiss to her lips. She felt the tenderness of it, she knew he cared. She didn't expect him to say it back. Hell, she wasn't sure if she could even say it out loud again. But she would treasure this moment. It might be the last one they had in their little bubble.

"Okay, you can stop making out now. We've got a game plan to start." Steve called from across the room. She pulled away with a laugh, a scowl already forming on Bucky's face.

"Punk." he replied as he turned, but she saw the smile playing on the edges of his lips. Bucky was back. And she'd do whatever it took to keep him from being taken from her again. Her eyes lit up as she saw a pile of electronic scraps in the corner, and she untangled herself from Bucky's embrace.

"While you guys do whatever it is you planned to, I've got an idea for a new stun gun. I've realized I'm completely defenseless in the company of superheroes." she backed towards the pile. "And I'm sure this is far from the last conflict that we'll face." she called out, fully focused on pulling working pieces out and assembling a mental blueprint. This'll work, she thought as she pulled out an internal power source that would be easy to boost with some scrap alloy. When her eyes fell on a particularly useful piece of equipment, she smiled. Oh hell yeah, this would work.

…..

Her crimes were racking up by the hour. Sitting in a stolen oldsmobile, she sighed. Bucky sat behind Sam as they watched Steve and Sharon interact. She'd agreed to bring the confiscated suits and weaponry to their rightful owners. She wondered why Sharon would betray her employers for these new criminals. Then again, if Don hadn't had Bucky, she'd probably have done anything Captain McDreamy asked her to do too.

"Can you move your seat up?" Bucky asked, squashed behind Sam in the cramped vehicle.

"No." Sam didn't even crack a grin. They really did not like each other.

"Buck, we can switch if you need me to." she offered, but he ignored it, scooting to the middle seat. Sharon and Steve glanced inside the car, probably discussing Bucky. It was painfully quiet in the oldsmobile, each time she moved there was a really loud, annoying rustling. But they all just watched Steve talk to Sharon, not talking inside the car at all. When they kissed, she gave a small chuckle. "Good for them." Steve looked pretty self satisfied. The two men in the car nodded at him, and she rolled her eyes, smacking Bucky's arm. _Men_. Steve gave them a look before unpacking Sharon's trunk and putting it all into the back of the car. Bucky turned to her, a worried look in his eyes as he glanced down at her weapon.

"You sure you'll be fine with just that?" he gestured to her lap, where her new EMP ray laid.

"If you want me to test it out on you then be my guest. It's no repulser shooter, but it'll knock you off your feet." she jokingly aimed it at him, and he used his metal hand to cover the muzzle in case it discharged.

"I'm not worried about that. I'm worried that they won't stay down for long." he sighed, shaking his head and lowering her weapon. Steve got back in the car and they zoomed down the highway.

"I appreciate the concern, but I'm not looking to do any permanent damage. If someone with a high tech suit comes at me, bam, that tech is incapacitated for a few seconds. Long enough for me to run the other way." she explained. He frowned at her, clearly not happy with her explanation. "And if anyone without a high tech suit comes at me, I switch the amperage up and it hits you with a zap that topples you." she sighed. He smiled, nodding.

"Do me a favor and keep it on that setting." he said as they entered a parking garage. Going up to an empty level, they parked the tiny vehicle next to a shady looking van, and Steve and Sam got out, giving her and Bucky ample time to crawl out of the tiny backseat.

"How about our other recruit?" Steve was asking a man as Bucky helped her out of the car.

"Listen to me." Bucky murmured, leaning on the car and watching the group alertly. "If we get separated, if I get compromised, if anything goes wrong, you run."

"Buck." she stepped back, crossing her arms. "I'm not going to run away."

"Donatella." his voice was sharp as he turned to her. "This isn't gonna be like Bucharest. We're up against people who even I'd have a hard time taking down. They won't try to hurt you, god I hope they won't, but they won't be going easy on you either. If you get arrested…"

"Don't worry about that." she waved his concern away. "Worry about keeping yourself safe. I'll be right by your side. We're in this together, Buck." she reminded him.

"Together." he reached out, grabbing her hand. They glanced over, seeing the rest of the group was about ready.

"Everyone, this is Bucky and Don." Steve announced to the three new people, one other woman in the midst.

"Uh, hi." Donatella greeted.

"Wait so which one's Bucky?" the dark haired man asked, glancing between them. Donatella grimaced.

"Don is short for Donatella. Four syllables is a bit of a hassle with introductions." Sam mentioned.

"You should see my birth certificate. Full twelve syllables." she snorted.

"I'm Wanda." the woman stepped forward, reaching out to shake her hand.

"This is Clint and Scott." Steve supplied names for the other two men.

"Nice to meet you all." Donatella was speaking for both herself and Bucky, it seemed.

"Let's suit up." Steve told the rest of them. Donatella glanced down at her plain jeans and long-sleeved t-shirt, shrugging.

"You ready?" Bucky asked her.

"As I'll ever be." she sighed. They moved in silence, everyone had their game faces on. Steve went ahead and came out from under an underpass, heading towards a helicopter, but two flying suits touched down to meet him just on the other side. Tony had fried the systems on the chopper, and Bucky tensed.

"Wow, it's so weird how you run into people at the airport." Tony spoke, his helmet sliding away to reveal a black eye and deep bags that revealed how the situation had been weighing on him. "Don't you think that's weird?"

"Definitely weird." she recognized the War Machine suit, but not the wearer. She wasn't too keen on superhero news, mostly just their technological advancements.

"Hear me out, Tony. That doctor, that psychiatrist, he's behind all this." Steve warned him about Zemo.

"Captain." T'Challa appeared, leaping over a truck. Damn, they were slowly getting challenged more and more.

"Your highness." Steve greeted. She sighed, shrinking closer into Bucky's side.

"Anyway." Tony continued after T'Challa's interruption. "Ross gave me 36 hours to bring you in. That was 24 hours ago. Can you help a brother out?" he asked Steve.

"You're after the wrong guy." Steve attempted to explain the situation again, but even Donnie could have told him it was futile. Stark was a man who would never admit that he was wrong.

"Your judgement is askew. Your old war buddy killed innocent people yesterday." Bucky flinched at Tony's revelation.

"And there are five more super soldiers just like him." Steve was done trying to clear Bucky's name for the time being. "I can't let the doctor find him first, Tony. I just can't." Natasha approached, speaking lowly to Steve. The breeze carried her words away before they could reach the group that lay just out of sight.

"We're going to the terminal." Bucky murmured in her ear, leading her away as there was a scuffle beginning behind them. They made it inside, stopping with Sam in order to send out his Redwing to scout for their backup vehicle. The quinjet.

"We found it. Their quinjet's in hangar five, north runway." Sam spoke over the intercom once his tech spotted it. They began to run towards the hangar through the terminal, but something red caught their eye through the large windows.

"What the hell is that?" Bucky asked.

"Everyone's got a gimmick now." Sam scoffed as they put on the speed.

"Yeah, okay Mr. Birdsuit." Donatella commented as the spider burst through the windows. He hit Sam as she and Bucky sprinted past, taking him down terrifyingly quickly. How many super-soldiers were in the world? The guy approached her and Bucky, and Bucky threw a punch, but the kid caught it.

"You have a metal arm? That is awesome, dude." the kid was in awe as Don powered up her ray, praying that it would do the trick. It did, blasting the kid back from Bucky and sending him tumbling.

"Okay, I like that thing. Good job." Sam approached, slapping his hand on her back. Sam went after him when he got up, and the kid actually crawled around his grasp easily.

"You have the right to remain silent!" he called to Sam.

"Is spidey arresting us?" Donnie jogged up to Bucky, and they followed the aerial battle as best as they could. The kid was swinging with some sort of long-chain polymer, an extremely strong nylon webbing. Sam blasted something at him, and the kid dodged, perching on a support beam. Bucky picked up a, was that a terminal directory? He threw it at him like it was a damn frisbee, and the kid managed to dodge, and she squeaked as Bucky pulled her behind a pillar.

"Hey buddy, I think you lost this!" the kid called, and Bucky peeked out before tackling her to the floor, the sign coming crashing through the pillar. He rolled them over and they sprang up, rushing to see Sam webbed to the railing, his wings no longer out.

"Those wings carbon-fiber?" the kid called from his perch.

"Is this stuff coming out of you?" Sam looked with disgust at the webbing on his hands.

"That would explain the rigidity-flexibility ratio, which, gotta say, that's pretty awesome man." spidey sounded really impressed with everything. Was this his first time out of the house or something?

"I don't know if you've been in a fight before, but there's not usually this much talking." Sam deadpanned.

"Come on grouch, liven up. At least we aren't out there." Donnie called, Bucky straying behind to launch some sort of attack.

"D-Donatella Belucci?!" the kid dropped from his perch. "I-I can't believe it, I attended one of your speeches on biomolecular robotics." she was alarmed as he approached, raising her ray. "Woah, is that an EMP transmitter made from-" Bucky lunged, cutting the kid off, but he was knocked off the platform by the kid, who perched on the railing. Sam and Bucky were webbed to the floor beneath her, and she rushed to look over the edge to check on them. "Listen, guys, I'd love to keep this up but I've only got one job here and I've gotta impress Mr. Stark, I'm really sorry. Miss Belucci, I'd love to talk to you more one day, you're like, one of my heroes-" the kid screamed when she shot him with a high concentration of EMP, sending him flying through the window back outside.

"You couldn't have done that earlier?" Bucky called up to her.

"It was nice to be appreciated for once. Nobody ever cares about my biomolecular robotics speeches." she stuck her tongue out at him, heading for the staircase to free them. "I gotta say, though, this polymer is impressive. Really strong." she had a hard time breaking it from Bucky's arm.

"You can tell us more about that once we get on the jet and head for Siberia." Bucky sat up, turning to help her get Sam free.

"I hate you. Don't encourage the science mumbo-jumbo." Sam sighed. They moved quickly, making it out onto the tarmac and meeting up with the rest of the group as they rushed in a dead sprint towards the hangar. The jet was just in sight, they would be there in a few seconds. But of course, some fizzling energy laser decided to stop them. She sighed in annoyance, looking up to see some sort of synthetic-skinned robot flying above. She would be impressed if it wasn't such a threatening sight.

"Captain Rogers, I know you believe what you're doing is right. But for the collective good you must surrender now." he spoke in a weird British accent as the rest of Tony's team arrived.

"What do we do Cap?" Sam asked as Donatella studied the opposition. They had a very slim chance to make it.

"We fight." Steve replied, and of course they were running again to meet team Iron Man. This wasn't ideal, she hung back by Clint, using her weapon in range to blast a few people off their feet. She found out that EMP had no effect on whatever was powering Vision, and she wondered if it had anything to do with the yellow glowing stone in the middle of his forehead. She lost sight of Bucky, but Clint was about to get taken down and so she had to blast Natasha off her feet. She'd never had a real conversation with the woman, but in another life she thought they could have been good friends.

"You were pulling your punches." Donatella was breathing heavily as she bent down to help her tentative teammate up. He nodded sheepishly and jumped back to his feet, and they were back to the fight. She saw Wanda helping Bucky out, sighing with relief when he was temporarily safe. And Steve, well he really wasn't pulling his punches against the kid. When he knocked the ramp on top of him she darted out to follow Steve to cover.

"We gotta go. That guys probably in Siberia by now." Bucky said. She looked at him, his brow creased with concentration, and she pursed her lips.

"We have to draw out the flyers. I'll take Vision, you go to the jet." Steve replied. Bucky glanced at her with a grim nod.

"No, you go to the jet! The three of you." Sam called over the comms system. "The rest of us aren't getting out of here."

"As much as I hate to admit it, if we're gonna win this one, some of us might have to lose it." Clint's voice crackled to life in her ear.

"This isn't the real fight, Steve." Sam's voice was stern in her ear, and she shut her eyes tightly at the desperation in it.

"Alright, Sam. What's the play?" Steve murmured, Bucky glancing up at him.

"We need a diversion. Something big." Sam mused.

"I've got something kinda big, but I can't hold it very long. On my signal, run like hell. And if I tear myself in half… don't come back for me." Scott replied, and Donatella froze.

"He's gonna tear himself in half?" Bucky seemed confused, and Don squinted towards where the battle was still raging.

"He's going to grow. He can't do that, shrinking is one thing, his body won't be able to handle the stress-" Donatella was cut off by Steve.

"You sure about this, Scott?" the Captain asked. She glared at him, why was nobody trying to stop him?

"I do it all the time. I mean once… in a lab. Then I passed out." Scott's voice replied in her ear and she shuddered. He might not be so lucky this time… suddenly he was standing in the middle of the tarmac, War Machine gripped tightly between his giant fingers.

"Fuck." she was horrified, he was holding it for so long… "Move, we gotta go!" she hissed, pushing at Steve.

"I guess that's the signal." he breathed, staring up at the man. The man who would probably get very badly injured if he had to hold his diversion much longer.

"Way to go, tic-tac!" Sam laughed in her ear. They sprinted as fast as possible, the flyers clashing it out above their heads. Scott kicked a bus, and a fiery explosion caused her to stumble.

"God, what the fuck is this, Shrek Two?" she muttered as they darted beneath a plane. Something happened behind them, and a yellow laser beam that she knew came from Vision hit a tower, causing it to crumble downwards. Red energy from Wanda slowed its descent, and Bucky and Steve sprinted through. Something hit Wanda, and the building came down. The two men dove forwards through while she jumped backwards, barely clearing the gap.

"Donatella!" Bucky's voice called in her ear.

"I'm fine!" she gasped, winded by a piece of rubble that had knocked her off her feet. Was this the end? She sent up a quick prayer to any and all gods that might exist that they'd make it safely to the hangar and get the hell out of there. She groaned as she stood, her already bruised ribs not happy with her at the moment.

"Donatella… I can't make it back through. We've got to go now." Bucky spoke through the earpiece again.

"I know, Buck. Be safe. Come back to me, alright?" she smiled as she spoke. He didn't respond. Stumbling back towards Wanda, she raised her weapon towards the skies. Everyone was too high to fall harmlessly to the ground, so she lowered it again. After an impressive maneuver, Scott went crashing to the ground and shrunk again, but the spider kid went crashing into a pile of boxes near her. Swearing at her weakness she changed course, heading for the kid. It didn't look great for him. Tony had the same idea as they approached his crumpled body from opposite sides.

"Kid, you alright?" Tony asked as they knelt next to him. The kid rolled over in a flash, lashing out.

"Same side. Hi. Guess who, it's me." Tony held him down, and Donatella made her presence known.

"Oh my god, it's you again!" the kid gasped, looking at her before he sighed, relaxing. "Sorry for, you know, trying to web you up."

"Are you okay?" she asked, noticing his face was partially uncovered.

"Yeah. That was scary." he breathed out a laugh, blinking as if he was dazed.

"Tony, we're done now, alright? I'm staying here, I think he's concussed." Donatella shot him a look, kneeling next to the kid. He really _was_ a kid.

"What? I'm good, I'm fine!" the kid tried to sit up, but she held his struggling frame down.

"You did a good job. Stay down." Tony ordered, but he still struggled.

"No, it's good, I gotta get him back!" the kid shouted.

"You're going home or I'll call Aunt May!" Tony threatened. "You're done!" Stark stood, walking off before flying up.

"Mr. Stark, wait! I'm not done, I'm not… okay, I'm done. I'm done." He collapsed back onto the ground and Donatella placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Here, hang on a minute, let me check your eyes." She sat him up and blocked the sun to check the dilation. It wasn't perfect, but it worked out alright. "Looks good kid. Why the hell did you come out here for this? Don't you have school or something?" She asked suspiciously.

"Spring break?" He squeaked, and she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Hey wait, you're still in school, aren't you? You can't say anything to me." He pointed out.

"Spring break, remember? Also, I'm an adult. You're, what, sixteen?" She squinted. "Wait, do you go to MSST? Is that where you know me from?" Her eyes widened as she recognized him. "No way, you're the kid that set off the fire alarms and disappeared during my presentation! That's because you… oh you sneaky little shit!" She gasped.

"Okay please don't tell anybody about that, I had to go to, well, it was an accident." He stammered as she laughed.

"Here, let's get outta here. I figure I'll be leaving here in cuffs, so I should stretch my legs while I can." She sighed, helping him to his feet and supporting him as he limped alongside her. She looked up as the quinjet soared ahead, rapidly gaining distance.

"Why were you helping them?" the kid asked. She watched as Tony and War Machine gave chase, Sam quick on their tails.

"Because sometimes even the bad guys are just trying to fix their mistakes." she murmured, eyes narrowing as a beam of light headed from Vision straight towards Sam. He tucked and rolled, dodging the blast by a narrow margin. But War Machine wasn't so lucky, it struck his arc reactor, his suit going offline. "Fuck." she muttered, gripping the kid's arm tighter. "That is really not good." her voice wavered as his suit came plummeting down.

**We've finally made it through Civil War. Thanks so much for all of the support you've all given me on this story! There will be one more chapter after this, including a sneak peek at the next installment of this story!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: You Really Got Me**

The kid she now knew as Peter was sent back home. Tony managed to pull some strings, getting her out of any jail time, since she never technically broke any laws and was not a superhero, just a civilian, she was able to obtain her two doctorates without any serious repercussions. Her only punishment was getting her Seoul position stripped away to be put under some sort of temporary house arrest after graduating, stuck in Tony's compound, working with what was left of the Avengers.

It was a shadow of something that was once great. Nobody seemed to be happy there, everyone seemed like a shell. No one had gone without losing someone in the split. Tony seemed to have taken it the hardest. She'd become sort of friends with him in her time in the compound, as well as the kid. And she spent a _lot_ of time there. In the labs she had a full technical team of doctors, interns, and scientists that followed her every wish. She managed to complete her anti-seizure device and ship it out for testing worldwide. But what she was working on now was much more important.

"I'm calling it the Bridge." she explained to Tony as he checked in on her. He liked to do that, look in and make sure she was doing okay.

"I'm assuming not because there's a troll underneath it that wants me to answer riddles?" he peered down at the device that lay harmlessly on the table.

"It's a synapse projector. I made it for Rhodey." she replied softly, pulling up a diagram. "My first one is outfitted for the spinal column. We locate the damaged nerve endings and implant the chip between the vertebrae. Where the neural impulses get stuck, this will bridge the deadzone's gap and continue to pass the message along. It can potentially cure paralysis with multiple Bridge's implanted along each damage site."

"And it works?" he asked, uncharacteristically quiet.

"All tests have pointed to positive. I did them myself in local hospitals with paralysis volunteers, and short of any muscular atrophy they were able to walk again. I've been putting more resources into fitting the Bridge into usage for prosthetics and orbital sockets." Donatella wrung her hands together.

"And you made this for Rhodey, who dislikes you?" he spun to face her. "What's the game here?"

"Mr. Stark, there is no game." she replied coolly, unnecessarily professional with her mentor. "Nobody deserves partial paralysis for any reason. And I…" she squinted her eyes shut, taking a deep breath before finishing. "I feel responsible. If I'd have been there quicker, I could have examined the area, I could have fixed the damage before it-"

"Stop." he cut her off, striding forwards to put his hands on her shoulders, almost shaking her in his tight grip. "You are not to blame for anything that happened that day. You are not to blame for any of the actions within our petty little fight. You are not responsible for any harm that came to any of us. That's on _us_, not you."

"Then why didn't they come back?" her voice cracked. "I'm doing my best to fix this, he _can_ come back now. Why won't he?" she pleaded, feeling her eyes well with tears. Tony sighed, taking a step back and rubbing his hand over his forehead. It was like he aged ten years in one minute. He looked so… defeated.

"I don't know." he replied quietly.

"Can you… bring Rhodey in? I want to talk to him about the implant. Ask him if it's something he'd want to try." she turned away, crossing her arms. He sighed, coming closer to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Donnie, you did good work. You're doing more than I could have hoped for. Not just for Stark industries, but for the world. You're the best of us. Of all of us. Peter's personal hero, even." he mentioned dryly. He continued with a laugh. "I swear, that kid has a crush on you. But even so, its you. People like you who make the fight worth it."

"That's just it, Tony. There doesn't have to be a fight." she closed her eyes, shaking her head.

"There's always going to be a fight." he whispered. "And it's up to us to end it. Before it's too late."

"Tony…" she trailed off, turning back to face him. "Why did you want me to work for you? Why not just let me flounder after graduation. Lord knows nobody sane would've hired me after I joined forces with the Winter Soldier." she spat.

"Because when Peter was down, you came to help. You were literally standing across from him on a battlefield, but when the going got tough you didn't see him as an enemy. You saw him as a person. In that moment, you had the whole world pushing down against you. And you had this good inside of you that pushed right back." Tony replied. "We all need to see a little bit more of that in ourselves. Myself especially. I've driven half of my most trusted people out of the country because I couldn't handle feeling responsible."

"Thank you." she choked out, feeling the tears spill down her cheeks.

"I hate to leave you while you're down, but I believe Rhodes would like full function of his legs back as soon as possible. You'd better deliver." he called over his shoulder as he walked out of the lab. She sighed, sitting next to her work table. It had been four months. That long since she had last seen him. Since Steve and Bucky disappeared, since everyone was shipped off to prison, to be sentenced, at least before there was a breach and they were busted out by the Captain. There had been no sightings of Bucky with him. She knew everyone was probably okay, Clint was with his family, Scott with his own as well. Sam was probably with Steve, Wanda was… Well, Vision had been sneaking off to go see her, so she was fine for sure. And she was stuck here. With the recently annulled Accords looming over them, to be used as a 'guidebook' instead of the law. She was unaffected by them, but Tony had the original copy with a big red stamp over the top sitting proudly in his office. And yet there was still something that prevented the rest of them from coming home.

"Doctor Belucci." Rhodey was coming in, supported by his suit on his bottom half.

"Mr. Rhodes, thank you for coming in." she stood to greet him. "I have some good news for you." she sat him on an examination table, explaining her invention and the procedure to him at length. She wasn't going to force him to accept, but she wanted him to be as well-informed about his decision as possible. "It's the least I can do." she murmured, smiling tentatively.

"When can we start?" he gave her half a smile.

"As soon as you want. My whole team can be prepped and ready by tomorrow afternoon." she grinned, relieved this time that he had agreed.

"Will my insurance cover this?" he smiled, causing her to laugh.

"It's on the house." she joked right back. "On one condition." she added.

"What's that?" Rhodey asked.

"Change Tony's nameplate to 'Stank.'"

….

"Alright Rhodey, how you feeling?" she asked as she injected his IV stream with a relaxer.

"Very much good, thank you." he replied, already feeling the effects.

"Wonderful. I'll have the anesthesia ready in just a few moments." she beamed, gesturing to her anesthesiologist to come over. "Excited?" she asked as he hummed a song.

"Ecstatic." he sang. "I can't wait to kick Tony's ass again." he sighed as she came closer.

"I'm excited for that too. Okay, I'm just going to count back from ten with this, you ready?" she asked, putting the mask up to his face before twisting the knob to send him under. "Perfect." she murmured, removing the mask and gesturing to her team to put him on his side. She'd marked the spot where the nerve endings were damaged a few minutes prior, and so she was able to find the location quickly. Once she sterilized the area and created her incision, one of her team members handed her the chip, and she grabbed it with a tiny pair of tweezers, carefully inserting it. After knocking it home with a rubber mallet, she activated the chip, taking a small electrical current to shock the area as a test. When his leg twitched she beamed, closing the site and bandaging the area. They managed to prop Rhodey in his bed more comfortably before cleaning the room and clearing it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the good doctor has cured Rhodey." Tony was waiting outside for her as she removed her gloves and mask.

"When he wakes up I'll perform a full physical, but preliminaries show he's good to go." she beamed, gripping him tightly in a hug.

"I am impressed." a heavily accented voice spoke, and she jumped back, peering around Tony to see the man behind him. "I was not aware that the medical community had the means to cure paralysis." T'Challa spoke.

"Oh, well, we just did it." Tony grinned. "Your Highness, I wasn't expecting you. Can I get you a diet coke? Maybe some blueberries?"

"I would actually like a moment alone with Dr. Belucci, if it is possible." her smile faded at his words. What was going on? Tony looked to her, and she gave a tentative nod before Tony patted her on the head, waltzing off and whistling a bright tune. The rest of her team had gone back to her lab, as they were no longer needed in the medical wing while the nurse on duty could monitor Rhodey. "Walk with me." he stepped beside her, placing a guiding hand on her back. She could feel his hand was warm through her lab coat, and felt indescribably uncomfortable with the situation. The last time she had seen the man he was trying to kill her boyfriend.

"What exactly is this about, Your Highness?" she asked, making sure to be polite to the King. "I'm sure that the technological advancements in Wakanda are at least thirty years ahead of ours."

"That is what is interesting to me, Dr. Belucci. We were quite far ahead with the use of vibranium in medicine." he slowed their walk as they got to a conference room. "Please, come inside." he ushered her in, shutting the door behind them. He went to sit at the head of the table, gesturing to the seat beside him. His advisor, Okoye, was already waiting for them, standing behind the chair he chose with her spear, at attention.

"Were?" she slowly sat down, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Were. When we heard of your seizure technology and how it was near flawless in preliminary studies, we were impressed. You created that as part of your thesis in graduate school, correct?" he asked, sliding forward a tablet with an article of her first widespread invention.

"Yes, it was inspired by my graduate advisor. He had debilitating epilepsy." she explained, glancing over the article. His hand moved over the tablet, swiping to another article on her.

"Throughout graduate school, you have spoken on biomolecular regenerative technology as an alternative to chemotherapy." he referenced her other portion of her thesis.

"That is correct, yes, but I haven't completed my tweaking on that quite yet." she rubbed her hand over her arm, uncomfortable with the amount that he had researched. "It's not going to be ready for testing for a few more months."

"See, only three years and you've led two very important medical breakthroughs." he leaned back in his seat. "And when I get here to speak to you of these breakthroughs, I discover you've cured paralysis in just four months. The Bridge is very intriguing, I might add, how you have managed to create a non-invasive procedure to fix something so complex."

"I wouldn't say the Bridge is anything complex." she tried to defend herself, feeling embarrassed at the attention.

"Dr. Belucci, I do not mean to make you uncomfortable. On the contrary, I am intrigued by how you have sped up modern medicine decades just in a few years." T'Challa leaned forward, causing her to lean back.

"It wasn't all me, I've worked with different teams-" his hand reached out to stop her from speaking.

"It was your brain that saw the possibilities. Your brain that fixed any errors, stopped any impossibilities. You have done more with such small resources in mere years that it has taken mankind decades to achieve. I am impressed." he smiled, and she gave an uncomfortable laugh back. Was he just going to sit here and tell her that she was impressive? Or was he playing at something else. "I have a challenge in Wakanda, my sister is quite the inventor but she has a lot on her plate at the moment. I'm here to proposition you."

"Excuse me?" she scooted her chair back, very uncomfortable now.

"A job proposition. For a few months, in the lab in Wakanda. My sister is quite impressed with your work as well, and would like to meet you in order to see what you think about a certain project of hers." he raised his hands non-threateningly, and she relaxed.

"Can I know anything about this project before I agree?" she asked.

"All that I can tell you is that she looks to you with great respect. Please consider my offer, she plans to begin her project within the next month. Once you've worked out the kinks in your near-flawless cure for cancer, I believe we shall speak again." he stood, Okoye standing at attention behind him. "Thank you for your time." he nodded his head, and she did the same to him. He left the room, and she sat there, slightly in shock. Of course she wanted to accept the offer, working in the most advanced lab on the planet? But she had work to do here first. And… she frowned down at her watch.

She had someone to find.

**End**

**And that's just the end of book one! I'm almost finished with the next part of this series, so keep an eye out on my page for when that gets published! It should be up within a few days!**

**Here's a small piece of the first chapter of book two: Second Chances Won't Leave Us Alone**

_She really was alone, she realized. Nobody was around her. She no longer had Bucky. Sure, she constantly thought of him. Her heart ached at her memories of the time they shared together. When they first met. Of course, it was different then, they hadn't been so…_

_She would say close for lack of a better word. After that, it was hard to imagine life without him. Especially after they'd gotten together. But none of that… none of it was really real. She was sure that if they hadn't been isolated, if they had known each other in any other situation, then they would not have been together. Probably wouldn't have glanced at each other twice. But there was something… real, very real that she couldn't deny transpired between them. It was a true dependence, a true sense of love and trust. She'd gone through hell for him, and he left her stranded. What kind of person did that? Said they loved someone and then forgot about them. Was it possible he'd played her? That he'd… he'd just planned the whole thing to use her?_

_It hurt, but it was possible. She squeezed her eyes shut, taking a deep breath. It hurt, it really hurt to think that he'd done that to her, but it could be true. He was an assassin, nothing that transpired between them could have been legitimate. He knew how to keep deep cover. He knew how to get what he wanted, how to get people to trust him. And she trusted him so much, so deeply, so irrevocably so that she still doubted he could do something like that to her. But she had to move on. It was the only way to survive. Eat or be eaten. Kill or be killed. That would be something Bucky would say. Use others before they can use you. She pursed her lips, sniffling as she realized she was tearing up. She opened her eyes, blinking rapidly to diminish the tears as to not ruin her makeup. It would be nice to look at least presentable for her first visit to Wakanda._


End file.
